tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-78110748023788002472018-10-22T04:14:03.137-07:00My apologies, they tend to call me Evaguy01Articles and Reviews on Anime, Cosplay, Conventions, Tutorials and Mecha Cosplay Tipseva_guy01http://www.blogger.com/profile/07470400117877255091noreply@blogger.comBlogger58125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7811074802378800247.post-91747802024461964472013-08-23T06:17:00.001-07:002013-08-23T06:17:59.321-07:005 Reasons why you should know Goldy moreNot many people know <a href="https://www.facebook.com/goldy.marg"><b>Goldy</b></a>, known in Japan as one of the best cosplay craftsmen and cosplayer around.&nbsp; But then again, not many people are really into mecha, armor and hands-on crafting in general.&nbsp; <br /><br />But to tell you the truth, if you don't know Goldy, you're missing a lot about knowing one of the legends of cosplay.<br /><br />In a nutshell, Goldy has been inspiring a small community of cosplay/mecha enthusiasts into building their own seemingly impossible mecha or armor costumes, and back then around early 2000's.&nbsp; If you've been around that time and you see pictures of this awesome "Gundam Guy" floating around forum sites, and even 4CHAN (admit it, some of you have been there often), he would be <b>THAT</b> "Gundam Guy".&nbsp; Some cosplayers look up to him as inspiration that they themselves created works equal to his. One of them notably is <b><a href="https://www.facebook.com/Clivecosplay">Clive Lee of Singapore</a></b> (yes, the other "Gundam Guy").&nbsp; Honestly back then I tend to mistake them both as the same guy, before I got the chance to meet Clive online and in person.&nbsp; So if this bit of info doesn't convince you, perhaps these 5 other reasons will:<br /><br /><b>1) <a href="http://www.cosplaygen.com/goldy-marg-a-wizard-of-cosplay-crafting/" target="_blank">He's been cosplaying mecha for about 10 years</a>.</b>&nbsp; And its not just 10 years, with certain year or two in haitus, but 10 years of continued mecha and armor making.&nbsp; That makes him a guru on anything mecha costume related (Why guru? More on that later).<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-hNg8qW6Yjak/Uhb4GgnDLsI/AAAAAAAAA5c/LRY7h4jpZds/s1600/goldy01.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-hNg8qW6Yjak/Uhb4GgnDLsI/AAAAAAAAA5c/LRY7h4jpZds/s1600/goldy01.jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Screenshot from Cosplaygen's article: http://www.cosplaygen.com/goldy-marg-a-wizard-of-cosplay-crafting/</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><b>2) In those years, he made <a href="http://www.cosplay.com/member/146645/costumes/" target="_blank">11 very well made mechas and armor</a>.</b>&nbsp; Not including the numerous quality props he made for himself and other people.<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-hJ-6PSCrzfc/UhcJ8CZ0WuI/AAAAAAAAA5s/VUf9nfqq71U/s1600/Goldy02.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="217" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-hJ-6PSCrzfc/UhcJ8CZ0WuI/AAAAAAAAA5s/VUf9nfqq71U/s640/Goldy02.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">From his Cosplay.com account: http://www.cosplay.com/member/146645/costumes/</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><b>3) <a href="http://gadgettool.web.fc2.com/school01E.htm" target="_blank">He teaches other people how to build them.</a></b>&nbsp; He conducts workshops in Akihabara, with plenty of satisfied attendees. Plus he uploads them at his <a href="http://www.youtube.com/user/GoldyMarg?feature=watch" target="_blank">Youtube account</a>.&nbsp; Of course there is always the problem of the language barrier but fortunately there are videos that had interpreters or english-speaking assistants to help him out.&nbsp; Check out his website <a href="http://gadgettool.web.fc2.com/indexE.htm">Gadget Tool</a> for more info regarding workshops.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/vugy-x0hiGk?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0' />&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">No, that guy is not Goldy but one of his assistants/students helping him out in</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">demonstrating one of his techniques in making a body part mold.&nbsp; This clip is</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">amusing because it does show Goldy in action, but his face is off-camera. XD</span></div><b><br /></b><b>4) He's been featured in several well known websites and publication</b>, like <a href="http://www.cosplaygen.com/goldy-marg-a-wizard-of-cosplay-crafting/">Cosplaygen</a>, <a href="http://www.anibee.tv/WhatsBuzzing/Article/10512/anibee-features--goldy-marg-">Anibee.TV</a>, <a href="http://costumerism.tumblr.com/post/25728277799/cosplaygen-via-goldy-marg-a-wizard-of-cosplay">London's Costumerism</a>,&nbsp; Cosplay in America's <a href="http://cosplayinamerica.tumblr.com/post/25748214205/cosplaygen-via-goldy-marg-a-wizard-of-cosplay">Tumblr</a>, <a href="http://www.cosplayinamerica.com/">website and book</a>, and <a href="https://www.ana-cooljapan.com/cosplay/#/photo/43/?cid=INT12080212">All-Nippon Airlines (ANA) Cool Japan website</a>.&nbsp; And I'm sure you've seen his cosplays in 4Chan as well.<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ksbruJ5trMw/UhdLGWiDSfI/AAAAAAAAA58/yA4JxTd6K0g/s1600/goldy03.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ksbruJ5trMw/UhdLGWiDSfI/AAAAAAAAA58/yA4JxTd6K0g/s400/goldy03.jpg" width="398" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">https://www.ana-cooljapan.com/cosplay/#/</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><b>5) He's been around a lot.</b>&nbsp; His work had made him a representative for Japan's <a href="http://www.animecon.nl/program/events/cosplay/wcs-2013">World Cosplay Summit</a> in 2006, in which he won a special award for his craftsmanship.&nbsp; He also became an invited guest, judge or speaker for numerous events not just in Japan, but in <a href="http://forums.sgcafe.com/cosplay-chat/58873-goldy-comes-cosplay-challenge-09-a.html">Korea's World Cosplay Festival 2008</a>, <a href="http://forums.sgcafe.com/cosplay-chat/58873-goldy-comes-cosplay-challenge-09-a.html">Thailand's Animation &amp; Multimedia (TAM2007)</a>, Singapore's <a href="http://forums.sgcafe.com/cosplay-chat/58873-goldy-comes-cosplay-challenge-09-a.html">Cosplay Challenge 2009</a> and <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JmnZYMiFYDU">Asia Cosplay Meet 2012</a>, <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PcIuvlVhX3k" target="_blank">London's MCM Comic Con</a> and as far as <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nyadq_srgVI" target="_blank">USA's Anime Expo</a>.<br /><br />Now he is now visiting the Philippines for the first time as a guest at the premier cosplay-centric event, <a href="http://cosplaymania.com/">Cosplay Mania</a>.&nbsp; Even other famous cosplayers like Reika is excited to see him that she even announced his visit at <a href="https://www.facebook.com/pages/Reika/315573555144954">her own Facebook Page</a>.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-4SteM3Od8io/UhdM0n4bLyI/AAAAAAAAA6I/Lt4WKZIXgNk/s1600/goldy04.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-4SteM3Od8io/UhdM0n4bLyI/AAAAAAAAA6I/Lt4WKZIXgNk/s640/goldy04.jpg" width="360" /></a></div><br />I'm pretty excited myself.&nbsp; If these reasons aren't enough to make you want to meet him, I don't know what will.<br /><br /><span class="userContent"><span class="text_exposed_show">For more information regarding his visit, head on to <a href="http://www.cosplaymania.com/" rel="nofollow nofollow" target="_blank">http://www.cosplaymania.com/</a>.<br /> <br /> You may follow them for updates at</span></span><br /><span class="userContent"><span class="text_exposed_show">FB: /CosplayMania<br /> Twitter: @CosplayManiaPH<br /> Google+ <a href="http://gplus.to/CosplayMania" rel="nofollow nofollow" target="_blank">http://gplus.to/CosplayMania</a></span></span>eva_guy01http://www.blogger.com/profile/07470400117877255091noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7811074802378800247.post-37822538671761187232013-05-12T10:16:00.001-07:002013-05-12T10:16:24.210-07:00<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-6LmzHGwKvPs/UY_NWOBs74I/AAAAAAAAAxo/Pq2O1c2BsLE/s1600/485541_642014635812233_282180548_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-6LmzHGwKvPs/UY_NWOBs74I/AAAAAAAAAxo/Pq2O1c2BsLE/s640/485541_642014635812233_282180548_n.jpg" width="500" /></a></div><br />Cosplay Mania 2013 will be selling tickets as early as next week May 15 and will continue selling them until the event itself on October 5 and 6.&nbsp; Tickets will also be sold onsite as well, but I would suggest buying early to avoid the long lines.<br /><br />I would like to credit my friends Wilson Tortosa and Ruben De Vela for the wonderful artwork you see here.&nbsp; They're also responsible for the artwork for this year's Cosplay Tournament of Champions&nbsp; (TORCH).<br /><br />So I hope you guys are pretty excited for this event. :)eva_guy01http://www.blogger.com/profile/07470400117877255091noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7811074802378800247.post-62143626278399869722013-02-05T23:20:00.000-08:002013-02-05T23:21:13.892-08:00So it finally came to this<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-7BhnwwWorbI/URH35PBl4OI/AAAAAAAAAu8/svuID371wuA/s1600/526502_10151392299779627_2005697880_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-7BhnwwWorbI/URH35PBl4OI/AAAAAAAAAu8/svuID371wuA/s1600/526502_10151392299779627_2005697880_n.jpg" /></a></div><br />It seemed inevitable, considering the large number of people joining up and the hobby that has become widely popular.&nbsp; <br /><br />Some say it was the recent <a href="http://ph.news.yahoo.com/robbery-incident-in-megamall--mall-goers-in-panic-122739012.html" target="_blank">SM Megamall Martilyo Gang jewel heist</a> that provoked it.&nbsp; Some twitters even proposed having an <a href="http://storify.com/NowNica/twitter-heated-as-cosplay-event-in-megamall-linked" target="_blank">Anti-Cosplay Bill</a> due to the incident (as news reported that the robbers wore costumes, but later on retracted as CCTV cameras saw them wearing plain clothes).&nbsp; Some later on claimed it was a sarcastic joke that went overboard thanks to irresponsible posting and liking of screenshots of the matter in Facebook.<br /><br />Thinking about it, it really shouldn't have garner this much stigma against cosplayers but apparently the move is justified due to the robbery scare and cosplayers who like to bring realistic gun props to events.&nbsp; As much as I like cosplaying, some people simply has this need to be kick-ass, so they bring realistic guns to an event saying its for cosplay, disregarding the orange tip rule and the common sense of not playing around carelessly and pointing the gun props at anyone.&nbsp; Its election year and I've already <a href="http://evaguy01.multiply.com/journal/item/498/Sense-and-Sensibilities-Election-Gun-Ban-and-Cosplay" target="_blank">talked about how to go about it during the gun ban</a> during the election year of 2009.&nbsp; Guess people forget.<br /><br />But personally, I feel that Robinsons admin was simply looking for a way to justify enforcing cosplayers because of an incident that happened just last December, in an event which had cosplay activities.&nbsp; A fight occurred between two cosplayers (or costume makers?) that ended up rather badly.&nbsp; But the bad part was it was done inside the event premises and security needed to separate them along with their friends.&nbsp; Already it resulted with rumors that cosplay events will be banned from the mall.&nbsp; With <a href="http://www.cosplay.ph/2013/01/6th-philippine-cosplay-convention/" target="_blank">PCC (Philippine Cosplay Convention)</a> being the next in line, the organizers <a href="http://cosplay.ph/">Cosplay.ph</a> waited for the eventual storm.<br /><br />Needless to say, this has been the result of unfortunate circumstances and self-centered stupidity.&nbsp; Now that the eventual "zero tolerance" atmosphere has taken effect <a href="http://evaguy01.multiply.com/journal/item/463/Zero-Tolerance-on-Working-Weapons-at-Cons" target="_blank">(similar to Anime Expo in Los Angeles)</a>, I wonder if cosplayers in general would finally learn something from this.&nbsp; After all, it takes just one person to bring down the whole, the minority bringing down the majority which of course, includes the <a href="http://storify.com/NowNica/twitter-heated-as-cosplay-event-in-megamall-linked" target="_blank">public posting of mismanaged sarcasm versus the angry herd mentality phenomenon</a> witnessed in Twitter and FB. <br /><br />Oh well, this will all come to pass I guess.&nbsp; Sooner or later people will realize this is just a kneejerk reaction until somebody robs a bank.&nbsp; I bet someone in the internet will say the robbers looked like Superman and Batman.&nbsp; Oh wait, <a href="https://twitter.com/YahooPH/status/295166910570573824" target="_blank">they already did</a>.eva_guy01http://www.blogger.com/profile/07470400117877255091noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7811074802378800247.post-4269835207959526952012-12-20T04:40:00.001-08:002012-12-20T04:40:29.997-08:00Park Square MemoirsWith all the hoopla about this being the last week of our lives thanks to the Mayans and their incomplete calendar,&nbsp; I decided to pass by a shop in Park Square One, the multi-level parking lot in front of Dusit Hotel, to hang out and relax.&nbsp; After a quick conversation with the shopkeeper I was shocked to find out that Park Square One (one of the last original buildings that used to be part of Ayala Quad Shopping Mall) is scheduled to be demolished January 2013.&nbsp; If some of you guys are still too young to remember, this is what Glorietta today used to be then:<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.tumblr.com/tagged/ayala%20mall" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="286" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Dxhvi3zvMtY/UNJeThg-LWI/AAAAAAAAAqQ/feEf8iFF8Yk/s320/quad.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Quad Cinema back in the late 1980's. </td></tr></tbody></table>I admit, Im old enough to remember what being a mall rat was during the late 80's, where the only legit comic shop Filbars used to be, or that Glico's was the pre-cursor of Timezone, and having a set of cinemas that had Surround Sound instead of Dolby.<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-S1T50jPa9vI/UNL0GmOG13I/AAAAAAAAAqk/L8laZmTCOQA/s1600/2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-S1T50jPa9vI/UNL0GmOG13I/AAAAAAAAAqk/L8laZmTCOQA/s320/2.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The side facing Dusit Hotel</td></tr></tbody></table>I decided to document this last bastion of Ayala Art Deco architecture as a sort of morbid memoirs to its last few days (or months if there are delays) and give some thoughts on the history of some of the establishments that frankly and surprisingly, lasted for years until today.<br />&nbsp; <br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-MAMCOpzYYZE/UNL2flqAG0I/AAAAAAAAArY/FrbIseGwNy4/s320/14.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="320" /></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Tiangge since the early 90's.</td></tr></tbody></table>Park Square One used to be like Virra Mall back in the day, and in those days you wont see any tiangge around.&nbsp; The ambiance is comparable as walking through Glorietta 2, all the glitz and flash of a brand new mall showcasing the best a mall can offer.&nbsp; Nowadays small tiangge's litter the place, making it look like an indoor flea market, probably to cater to those who want to sell their wares at a much cheaper price than what Glorietta usually offers to their tenants.<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">&nbsp;<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-gNOpxHulVQM/UNL2TkejuxI/AAAAAAAAAq4/WGjWcCoRoF4/s1600/3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-gNOpxHulVQM/UNL2TkejuxI/AAAAAAAAAq4/WGjWcCoRoF4/s320/3.jpg" width="320" />&nbsp;</a> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Golf Depot was one of the oldest specialty sports stores, even older than Toby's.&nbsp; This used to be the premier sports shop, if you cant afford to go to its nearest competitor in Makati Cinema Square.&nbsp; It used to sell not just golf equipment, but gym weights, bicycles, fishing gear and even camping gear.&nbsp; Now they're slowly going back to just plain golf, and selling them at discounted prices.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Q-tUyFhhtYw/UNL2VxZPuKI/AAAAAAAAArA/ZoxufpFP33A/s1600/5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Q-tUyFhhtYw/UNL2VxZPuKI/AAAAAAAAArA/ZoxufpFP33A/s320/5.jpg" width="320" />&nbsp;</a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Lyric Music Workshop used to be where Yamaha School of Music was, and it still offers music tutoring all year round (back then, my Mom would always try to convince me to enroll there for piano lessons, which never really came to light).&nbsp; But I had friends who started their music there, mostly guitar lessons. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-DEbQpNYNSOE/UNL2X9maK9I/AAAAAAAAArI/2WvY0q2gcn4/s1600/6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-DEbQpNYNSOE/UNL2X9maK9I/AAAAAAAAArI/2WvY0q2gcn4/s320/6.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>Kawloon House at the corner facing Pasay Road has been my favorite place to buy good quality yet very affordable siopao.&nbsp; In fact, it was the only store that sells siopao by the pair that guarantees a full stomach despite being a "snack" food.&nbsp; It still does, although a bit expensive these days at P60 a pair (it used to be P40 back in the 90's).&nbsp; One of the most memorable thing about this place is that this is where I first learned the rumor about cats being part of the menu, with Kawloon being the top-of-mind store to be used as an example. But that still didnt stop me from eating them, if anything, it convinced me that cats are really good to eat.<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/--CA63iMXfk8/UNL2acDEt2I/AAAAAAAAArQ/T02B5OZcZ_Y/s1600/9.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/--CA63iMXfk8/UNL2acDEt2I/AAAAAAAAArQ/T02B5OZcZ_Y/s320/9.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>&nbsp;Back then, Magoos used to be one thing: 24 hours pizza! Before the advent of convenience stores like 7-11 and Ministop, Magoo's Pizza was the ONLY store that was open 24 hours.&nbsp; And at the height of popularity of a certain mutant superhero turtles, this was the place to be to hang out after the movies, or after the malls closes and you still want to burn the night away with your barkada.<br /><br />This particular store was most memorable because we hanged out here after Prom Night at Intercontinental Hotel back in day.&nbsp; The pizza was way better than the crappy hotel food they served us then.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-KAFf5HuwuZ8/UNL2iXxsXRI/AAAAAAAAAro/530ZkmsZmjA/s1600/18.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-KAFf5HuwuZ8/UNL2iXxsXRI/AAAAAAAAAro/530ZkmsZmjA/s320/18.jpg" width="320" />&nbsp;</a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Another establishment that been there, like forever, Odyssey was my place to keep myself updated with music.&nbsp; With no internet and mp3, cassette tapes were hot items in the store, and this is where you can ask the store keeper to open a cassette tape and play to check on quality.&nbsp; Of course there were times we were acting like cheap douchbags and simply let them play until we got tired of it and leave without buying anything. XD&nbsp; But its still surprising to see this still in business despite the internet and the mp3's.&nbsp; But its not without saying that its already part of a dying breed.&nbsp;&nbsp; </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-XOqO7RxhhVI/UNL26rutUWI/AAAAAAAAAtI/BsrxLOeJEx0/s1600/IMG_9972+Resized.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-XOqO7RxhhVI/UNL26rutUWI/AAAAAAAAAtI/BsrxLOeJEx0/s320/IMG_9972+Resized.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">My friends used to record their songs here.&nbsp; And they come home holding out cassettes with their band name written on it and pretend they bought it from Odyssey next door.&nbsp; There were rumors that famous bands used to hang out here to do private sessions.&nbsp; Even nastier were the supposed orgies.&nbsp; Ah, High School and testosterone, best mix ever.</div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-xmsgeTjS9sY/UNL2jQR4HYI/AAAAAAAAArw/nRdJJ-xaLdQ/s1600/19.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-xmsgeTjS9sY/UNL2jQR4HYI/AAAAAAAAArw/nRdJJ-xaLdQ/s320/19.jpg" width="320" />&nbsp;</a></div><div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">5th Avenue was the Octagon or CDR-King of its day, one of the first stores in Ayala to sell all sorts of electronics from portable radios, to pagers, 250mb ram desktops and the ridiculously priced Nokia 3210's.&nbsp; Now they're pretty up-to-date but obviously could not compete with the more prolific branches of other popular electronic stores.</div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-r7qGPDe1-MI/UNL2lz_U91I/AAAAAAAAAr4/yzGvkOWQ0ak/s1600/22.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-r7qGPDe1-MI/UNL2lz_U91I/AAAAAAAAAr4/yzGvkOWQ0ak/s320/22.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>If there was a geek mecca I used to hang out before there was any Great Toys or Toy Conventions, there was this store.&nbsp; Lil's was and until now the best place to buy original Tamiya stuff.&nbsp; There are also tons of other things that you may find interesting that not within mainstream, like realistic flying paper plane models, ships, unusual kites, diorama parts and even weird chibi plane models kids.&nbsp; There's very few selection of Gundam kits though because they are more of the plane, ship and tank types.&nbsp; And they have the best selection of paint kits anywhere.<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-S6cLkTrOEx4/UNL2nF8a6SI/AAAAAAAAAsA/6dJuObe0nzc/s1600/21.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-S6cLkTrOEx4/UNL2nF8a6SI/AAAAAAAAAsA/6dJuObe0nzc/s320/21.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">Im relieved to find out that they will be moving to Glorietta 2 real soon, so huge loss there.</div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-joJcMjSXMfo/UNL2ojxUORI/AAAAAAAAAsI/ZKGrOFm8s3Q/s1600/23.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-joJcMjSXMfo/UNL2ojxUORI/AAAAAAAAAsI/ZKGrOFm8s3Q/s320/23.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>Another shop that withstood the test of time, Island Photo was my choice of store because the crew there tend to be more helpful and friendlier than their rival, but that was back in the day where I used to take photos using film.&nbsp; The also offered back then, the most affordable and best quality blow up pictures as well (and no, it has nothing to do with explosions, just making your 3R photos into posters.&nbsp; Lets be honest, you're googling what a 3R is, arent you? XD)<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-70hO-nu44mI/UNL2qzZ5kmI/AAAAAAAAAsQ/4JghEl8EWRc/s1600/27.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-70hO-nu44mI/UNL2qzZ5kmI/AAAAAAAAAsQ/4JghEl8EWRc/s320/27.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>Every time I look at this store, I keep asking myself why the hell did they remove the pile-as-high-and-all-you-can salads?&nbsp;&nbsp; Nothing spells like A-M-E-R-I-C-A than Wendy's. Yes, this store beats that clown when it comes to feeling American when you come inside, with their American accents before Call Centers invaded the country.&nbsp; Now they let their cashier ladies say their english with their accents.&nbsp; But you have to admit, I always come back for the Frostee.<br /><br />I decided to check out the parking lot area next.&nbsp; Plenty of things changed since then, particularly when half of the space was allotted to having a jeepney terminal, which is all good since the area does need one after the supposed <a href="http://www.gmanetwork.com/news/story/65096/news/nation/mall-blast-kills-8-police-chief-says-not-lpg-may-be-a-bomb" target="_blank">bombing of Park Square Two back in 2007</a> eliminated the bus terminal stationed there.<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-hYQ8M-EXKww/UNL2vvM0yyI/AAAAAAAAAsY/Hxkl83Qf43k/s1600/29.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-hYQ8M-EXKww/UNL2vvM0yyI/AAAAAAAAAsY/Hxkl83Qf43k/s320/29.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>This used to be the spot where a bridge used to connect Park Square One to the old Glorietta 2.&nbsp; Now I can only get a glimpse from this point.&nbsp; The connecting bridge is now located at the 4th floor which leads to SM Department store.<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-aWRrC31DdoM/UNL2w4RbJNI/AAAAAAAAAsg/H9Fa31qNaVY/s1600/30.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-aWRrC31DdoM/UNL2w4RbJNI/AAAAAAAAAsg/H9Fa31qNaVY/s320/30.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">I used to ply these walkways, and at one time in costume, when a cosplay convention was held at Glorietta One cinema.&nbsp; The ceilings were so low, I can actually hit my head when I came in walking in my <a href="http://evaguy01.blogspot.com/2012/01/reviving-past-cosplays.html" target="_blank">Robotech Cyclone suit.</a> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-u3msmC5kvDs/UNL2yClFs4I/AAAAAAAAAso/rNfSYeEylm8/s1600/31.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-u3msmC5kvDs/UNL2yClFs4I/AAAAAAAAAso/rNfSYeEylm8/s320/31.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>On the 5th level you'd find the CityKart Racing circuit.&nbsp; I never tried this place before but one day I might, before they demolish this.&nbsp; This area used to be the TAMIYA RC Racing Circuit before CityKart took over.<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-oAuv_r7zP6A/UNL20OtsTnI/AAAAAAAAAsw/1257j8f5_qs/s1600/33.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-oAuv_r7zP6A/UNL20OtsTnI/AAAAAAAAAsw/1257j8f5_qs/s320/33.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-WtxLtSFocJY/UNL21fYrQAI/AAAAAAAAAs4/NsRkFgghXY8/s1600/34.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-WtxLtSFocJY/UNL21fYrQAI/AAAAAAAAAs4/NsRkFgghXY8/s320/34.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-6i8EJ_Yiebg/UNL23hTHT0I/AAAAAAAAAtA/RhdtGNXVJRc/s1600/37.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-6i8EJ_Yiebg/UNL23hTHT0I/AAAAAAAAAtA/RhdtGNXVJRc/s320/37.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><br />So those were my thoughts on Park Square One.&nbsp; People there tell me that the building will be replaced by one of those condo buildings that's so popular nowadays, perhaps to directly compete with Dusit Hotel across the street. Its a nostalgic trip for sure, but as we all know, the only thing that's constant is change.&nbsp; Its pretty depressing to lose another icon of my childhood and high school years, but these things need to move on, and perhaps for the better.&nbsp; Glorietta isnt so bad nowadays, and for sure, years from now, younger generations will also ponder on the days long past as they will bear witness to another set of building demolished to make way for new ones.<br /><br />So I leave this article with another set of photos of Park Square One.&nbsp; Its been a nostalgic journey, PS1, im going to miss you for sure.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-U8yq9T1Clbw/UNMGTVq3CvI/AAAAAAAAAtw/R-17L4FEqyE/s1600/10.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-U8yq9T1Clbw/UNMGTVq3CvI/AAAAAAAAAtw/R-17L4FEqyE/s320/10.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Ol-j9i3OiqA/UNMGWgg6LwI/AAAAAAAAAt4/vNC8ZwvSU2Y/s1600/11.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Ol-j9i3OiqA/UNMGWgg6LwI/AAAAAAAAAt4/vNC8ZwvSU2Y/s320/11.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-RqzEPsaAEE0/UNMGZ-0yjqI/AAAAAAAAAuA/WY3v96VmEAU/s1600/24.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-RqzEPsaAEE0/UNMGZ-0yjqI/AAAAAAAAAuA/WY3v96VmEAU/s320/24.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-TtdTFOS-Sno/UNMGf7Km-fI/AAAAAAAAAuI/0o5KOJ2UM58/s1600/1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-TtdTFOS-Sno/UNMGf7Km-fI/AAAAAAAAAuI/0o5KOJ2UM58/s320/1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><br /><br />eva_guy01http://www.blogger.com/profile/07470400117877255091noreply@blogger.com2Park Square One, San Lorenzo, Makati City, Philippines14.549173208324396 121.0253464222289514.548212708324396 121.02408592222895 14.550133708324395 121.02660692222895tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7811074802378800247.post-26375438807023268702012-11-13T22:15:00.001-08:002012-11-13T22:16:32.068-08:00Pre-Blog AFA post<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-GLZZPIjPZ8M/UKM2UrXnpCI/AAAAAAAAAp0/Hm9qEtCI2Ak/s1600/IMG_9298.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-GLZZPIjPZ8M/UKM2UrXnpCI/AAAAAAAAAp0/Hm9qEtCI2Ak/s400/IMG_9298.jpg" width="400" />&nbsp;</a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Im still writing up my upcoming post about our experience attending AFA in Singapore as well as Singapore in general.&nbsp; So for now, enjoy our Zaku Zanyness.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">And yes, im the green guy on the right.&nbsp; Pink will always be more awesome. XD </div>eva_guy01http://www.blogger.com/profile/07470400117877255091noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7811074802378800247.post-89229826749546427432012-10-04T07:28:00.000-07:002012-10-04T08:53:24.088-07:00Cosplay Mania: Five and still Fighting<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-E1jyAXysLbk/UG1RzOO6yhI/AAAAAAAAAow/DmUlKBD8Cow/s1600/five.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="81" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-E1jyAXysLbk/UG1RzOO6yhI/AAAAAAAAAow/DmUlKBD8Cow/s400/five.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />Let me start with an excerpt from a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Superman_%28It%27s_Not_Easy%29#Content" target="_blank">wikipedia entry</a> of the song "Superman" by the singer "Five for Fighting":<br /><blockquote class="tr_bq"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: &quot;Trebuchet MS&quot;,sans-serif;"><i>The narrator portrays himself as misunderstood and unsure rather than the god-like figure others see; he does not feel as powerful and perfect as people see him, and at the same time believes he is more than simply that heroic, unreal figure. Instead, he describes himself experiencing an ordinary man's struggles to understand himself, to live up to expectations, and fulfill his responsibilities, even while he is aware of how much greater his responsibilities are.</i></span></span></blockquote>For the last 5 years I've been with these extraordinary group of people who had nothing on their minds but service for others, even when the subject in question is cosplay, a subject people can easily take for granted.<br /><br />After all this time, I can easily say that <a href="http://www.cosplaymania.com/" target="_blank">Cosplay Mania</a>, the event, can be compared to Superman of this particular song.&nbsp; It started out small, delicate yet firm in its belief that it could do much good to cosplay enthusiasts.&nbsp; It came out of the blue, out of the sky, falling in a capsule of ideas that could have exploded on impact or never made it to its destination due to a wayward thought or dismissal of pessimism.&nbsp; It was unreal, alien, a hobby which came from a different culture (Japan) yet we adopted it and molded it as our own.&nbsp; The whole Cosplay Mania team, the people behind it, the organizers, marshals and volunteers, were like the Jonathan and Martha Kent of Superman's world - people who believed in old-school values while embracing the new with parental understanding.<br /><br />But like the song, Cosplay Mania has its own share of insecurities and weaknesses.&nbsp; But despite all that, the driving force behind it still believed that it was worth all the wisdom it can gather and learn from, and from there, fly off to become an inspiration to others.<br /><br />I've observed that some people see Cosplay Mania and the people behind it as supermen/women themselves: untouchable, invulnerable, and laden with enough superpowers to decimate any imagined opposition.&nbsp; They were either admired (and sometimes *shudder* worshipped) like saints or demi-gods, or despised because of it, making their own assumptions to justify their dislike towards the event and the people behind them.&nbsp; Sometimes decisions are made that aren't very popular, and would endure the storm fed by fear, ignorance or malice.&nbsp; Thus is the tragedy of being in the spotlight, but like always, we make it a point to simply hold our heads high and aim for something much higher, because we know our actions, and the result of that, will speak for itself.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-FBekK0h9TNs/UG2UsuZLjZI/AAAAAAAAApE/7NyZmV4uVA4/s1600/cm12.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="126" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-FBekK0h9TNs/UG2UsuZLjZI/AAAAAAAAApE/7NyZmV4uVA4/s400/cm12.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />On a personal level, it has been a struggle to define myself as either the Clark Kent or Kal-El when it comes to helping out Cosplay Mania.&nbsp; Its a double life I live in, juggling personal and professional obligations while helping out my own responsibilities for the event.&nbsp; I never intentionally kept my other life secret, its just that I never really talk about it.&nbsp; Its easier for me to deal with it without the annoying questions that came with the discovery.&nbsp; But its already general knowledge here in the office when it comes with my hobby, except when you're newly hired.&nbsp; But apparently I had reached my limits when what I dreaded finally happened: when your job and personal obligations intersect with the event itself.<br /><br />I've seen it coming actually, three years ago in fact, and that I have been grooming my friend Zaerone to lead the Costume Building Contest, an activity close to my heart.&nbsp; This was his very first year without me, and I'm glad he was capable of leading on his own, but I really wished he should start finding an assistant soon before all of his hairs turn grey with stress.<br /><br />Since February I've been helping out Cosplay Mania through graphics productions, although the poster designs for Cosplay Mania and TORCH, I give all the credits to artists <a href="http://batangbatugan.deviantart.com/" target="_blank">Wilson Tortosa</a> and <a href="http://rubendevela.deviantart.com/" target="_blank">Ruben Devela</a> for the designs.&nbsp; I simply did the layouts and everything else (well except the huge tarps and souvenirs, where Elben helped me with).&nbsp; The only thing I wasn't sure of was who made the giant tarp of the TORCH finalists draped over the second floor near the escalators.&nbsp; But even the demands of the event can make a man weary, especially if I have to satisfy equally the demands of other things like work and home.&nbsp; These are the times I'm very grateful to friends who are more than willing to lend a helping hand in those times of weakness.<br /><br />With all these Superman references, the obvious question is what would be Cosplay Mania's kryptonite?&nbsp; Will it be in a form of a hypothetical Lex Luthor, Brainiac or Darkseid?&nbsp; No, it's kryptonite would be this picture below.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-dyLWMqA5UeY/UG2ZdsrBxqI/AAAAAAAAApY/j2rPnAI3V7I/s1600/everyone.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="296" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-dyLWMqA5UeY/UG2ZdsrBxqI/AAAAAAAAApY/j2rPnAI3V7I/s400/everyone.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />Without these people (the organizers, marshals, volunteers, sponsors, guests, congoers and cosplayers) Cosplay Mania would be nothing, a dry husk without meaning. A kryptonite that instead of your usual lethal green kind, its the blue one that heals.&nbsp; We were all <a href="http://www.comicvine.com/blue-kryptonite/18-56639/" target="_blank">blue kryptonites</a>, caring and healing and helping it grow (unless you're the Smallville version, we're screwed, so lets pretend to be the Super Friends version, shall we?).<br /><br />We all look forward for the next year and what our humble event can do, to provide a venue for creativity for all cosplayers out there, and yet still dependent on all the Jimmy Olsens, Lois Lanes, Perry Whites, Jonathan and Martha Kents and a huge plathora of supporters and super heroes.&nbsp; A huge thank you and we promise keep on fighting for a better Cosplay Mania for all you blue kryptonites out there.<br /><br />So unless we turn into some sort of Bizzarro, our quest for flying ever higher will never fade.&nbsp; So here's to a sixth and beyond!eva_guy01http://www.blogger.com/profile/07470400117877255091noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7811074802378800247.post-68409039521673071292012-09-04T19:45:00.002-07:002012-09-04T19:46:26.389-07:00Got CosCards<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Oxke9v6a-ic/UEa45qau_zI/AAAAAAAAAoQ/7RXZC1sN7z4/s1600/robert-coscards.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="172" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Oxke9v6a-ic/UEa45qau_zI/AAAAAAAAAoQ/7RXZC1sN7z4/s400/robert-coscards.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />Finally gave in and ordered Cosplay Cards.&nbsp; For those who dont know, Cosplay Cards, or CosCards for short, were a popular method of introducing yourself to other people or fellow cosplayers while showcasing your own costume (as normally, costumes often identify those who wear them, well most of the time).<br /><br />A little personal history: I first encountered these CosCards when I was in Singapore attending Anime Festival Asia 2011.&nbsp; My hotel room mate and friend Rochelle (better known as <a href="http://magnetic-rose.net/" target="_blank">Magnetic Rose</a> in the cosplay/anime/blogger community, and <a href="http://magnetic-rose.net/" target="_blank">her website of the same name</a>) suggested that I bring these CosCards, which at that time I had no idea what for, as the idea of having a calling card is often reserved for more formal business ventures.&nbsp; But then I found it extremely useful in introducing oneself while cosplaying, especially to photographers and fellow cosplayers, although I do found it a bit embarrassing as I am not used to giving it around like a businessman (as I see cosplaying as a fond hobby).&nbsp; But I guess I rationalized the use with having my blog site known, and to let everyone know that Robert Wong is Evaguy01 (as if that mattered, but well, I disgress).<br /><br />Neways, I guess it can be a good stroke to one's ego to have your costume firmly identified with you, like when someone would say "<a href="http://evaguy01.blogspot.com/2011/11/anime-festival-asia-2011-day-3-nov-13.html" target="_blank">Ooooh, so you're that camouflaged Zaku I saw in this convention!</a>" and with a cosplay card as solid evidence.&nbsp; But its not 100% as accurate as a regular ID, but its all fun anyways.<br /><br />Had my CosCards made by <a href="http://cosplay.ph/">Cosplay.ph</a>, so if you feel like ordering some, feel free to check out their page!<br /><a href="http://www.cosplay.ph/2012/07/cosshoppe-new-service-coscards/">http://www.cosplay.ph/2012/07/cosshoppe-new-service-coscards/</a><br /><br /><br />eva_guy01http://www.blogger.com/profile/07470400117877255091noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7811074802378800247.post-11775210823987677292012-08-28T21:25:00.000-07:002012-08-28T21:25:29.806-07:00Grinding<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-r2xzKoceJKE/UD2ZTXX3LxI/AAAAAAAAAn4/lRBaiJZk_4Y/s1600/aaaa.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a></div><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-mRM3gE-P8gQ/UD2YpCL-cWI/AAAAAAAAAnw/m3Hp6u8RBJI/s1600/ergonomic-mouse-carpal-tunnel.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="227" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-mRM3gE-P8gQ/UD2YpCL-cWI/AAAAAAAAAnw/m3Hp6u8RBJI/s320/ergonomic-mouse-carpal-tunnel.jpg" width="320" /></a>Its been hell of an effort to juggle my time between two "jobs".&nbsp; The reason for the quotation is that one is a job, the other I really dont see it as a job, rather as something I like doing.&nbsp; Except, well, its just as stressful with deadlines.&nbsp; And my wrist is beginning to hurt.<br /><br />Every year we organize this cosplay-centric event called <a href="http://www.cosplaymania.com/" target="_blank">Cosplay Mania</a>, and every year it gets bigger and better (this year, one of the newest addition to the event is the much awaited visit of Japan's premier cosplayers <a href="http://www.cosplay.ph/microsites/cosmania/wp/?p=142" target="_blank">Kaname</a> and <a href="http://www.cosplay.ph/microsites/cosmania/wp/?p=483" target="_blank">Reika</a>, as well as returning Singaporean guest <a href="http://www.cosplay.ph/microsites/cosmania/wp/?p=694" target="_blank">Jesuke</a>).<br /><br />For the past year I've been assigned to help promote the <a href="http://www.cosplay.ph/microsites/cosmania/wp/?p=589" target="_blank">Costume Building Contest</a>.&nbsp; This year I left it and instead took the full time assignment as Graphics.&nbsp; Its pretty much more stressful then I initially thought, and many times ive considered if I took the wrong decision in leaving the comforts of CBC.&nbsp; Plus the requirements of my other steady job is also taking its toll, and its been one hellweek after the other.&nbsp; For the past month I work the regular hours, only to be greeted back home with another set of work.&nbsp; Yeah, the one thing I always treated as a past time, im now viewing it as work.&nbsp; I swear not an after work hour nor a weekend has passed that's not cosplaymania related.&nbsp; That's the beauty of being a graphic artist: you only work as fast as your PC.&nbsp; There are times one project can last a whole day.&nbsp; Getting concepts right is beginning to be less and less easier because most of the time, I come home tired, and then sleep late, then off to work early, come home tired then sleep late again.&nbsp; Over a month.&nbsp; I swear its not healthy anymore.&nbsp; I feel I could just drop dead anytime.<br /><br />Am I getting paid for the second set.&nbsp; Yes and No.&nbsp; Yes there are perks that go with it but its mostly non-financial.&nbsp; No, because well, Im not getting a salary.&nbsp; Just the upcoming satisfaction of a job well done, and hopefully being appreciated for it.&nbsp; Dont worry, I am being appreciated every year.&nbsp; Its that this year its just extremely stressful.&nbsp; I noticed my mouse wrist hurts when im under stress.&nbsp; I may end up getting Carpal Tunnel like my left hand had years ago (its ok now, no surgery needed).<br /><br />Just hang in there, I guess.&nbsp; A month before Cosplay Mania.&nbsp; The best perk I can look forward to, is that when its the actual day, I have no actual duties to do since being graphic artist meant Im done before the event starts.&nbsp; Wish I have time to finish my planned cosplay costume too.<br /><br />In the meantime, I'll probably need some sort of hand rest to prevent further damage.&nbsp; If only the office allows novelty mousepads like these. XD<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">&nbsp;<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-r2xzKoceJKE/UD2ZTXX3LxI/AAAAAAAAAn4/lRBaiJZk_4Y/s1600/aaaa.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="198" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-r2xzKoceJKE/UD2ZTXX3LxI/AAAAAAAAAn4/lRBaiJZk_4Y/s320/aaaa.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />Oh well, back to the grind then.eva_guy01http://www.blogger.com/profile/07470400117877255091noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7811074802378800247.post-57686324629527814682012-06-25T17:41:00.001-07:002012-06-25T17:41:40.362-07:00<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-nJxUQLjbpqg/T-kEx43kCqI/AAAAAAAAAnM/-p_pzBpb6g8/s1600/164233582.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-nJxUQLjbpqg/T-kEx43kCqI/AAAAAAAAAnM/-p_pzBpb6g8/s320/164233582.JPG" width="207" /></a></div><h6 class="uiStreamMessage" data-ft="{&quot;type&quot;:1,&quot;tn&quot;:&quot;K&quot;}" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span class="messageBody" data-ft="{&quot;type&quot;:3}">I couldn't resist and bought the book. I know its seems like spoiling myself for the upcoming movie, but I was curious how it was written and after reading the first two chapters did I realize how interesting the movie would be.<br /> <br /> My only comment and advise for everyone is that if you plan to buy the book and expecting it to be written like <a data-hovercard="/ajax/hovercard/page.php?id=109382582414182" href="http://www.facebook.com/pages/Pride-and-Prejudice-and-Zombies/109382582414182">Pride and Prejudice and Zombies</a> or <a data-hovercard="/ajax/hovercard/page.php?id=103777952994563" href="http://www.facebook.com/pages/Sense-and-Sensibility-and-Sea-Monsters/103777952994563">Sense and Sensibility <span class="text_exposed_show">and Sea Monsters</span></a><span class="text_exposed_show">, you might be disappointed with the writing style, or in my opinion, very much relieved that it veered away from lifted literature and created its own fictional alternate history biography of one of America's well known presidents.<br /> <br /> The best comparison I can give when comparing the storyline is that its similar to George Lucas' <a data-hovercard="/ajax/hovercard/page.php?id=105652539468259" href="http://www.facebook.com/pages/Star-Wars-Shadows-of-the-Empire/105652539468259" id="js_22">Star Wars: Shadows of the Empire</a> where you get to see what happened behind the scenes that led to <a data-hovercard="/ajax/hovercard/page.php?id=114052008611038" href="http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Empire-Strikes-Back/114052008611038">The Empire Strikes Back</a>, except that Star Wars was never a factual history, nor that George Lucas (no offense) wrote Shadows in the way he wrote the prequel Trilogy. Although with Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter I would need to brush up with the history of America's Civil War to fully appreciate the scenes and situations that dotted its literary landscape.</span></span></span></h6><h6 class="uiStreamMessage" data-ft="{&quot;type&quot;:1,&quot;tn&quot;:&quot;K&quot;}" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span class="messageBody" data-ft="{&quot;type&quot;:3}"><span class="text_exposed_show">&nbsp;So I'll leave it to you guys to either watch the movie or read the book first, but for now I wont mind spoiling myself on the details of the story, as the book entertaining in itself.</span></span></span></h6>eva_guy01http://www.blogger.com/profile/07470400117877255091noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7811074802378800247.post-15922154369287630892012-06-24T00:44:00.000-07:002012-06-25T17:42:41.155-07:00My really late Toycon Day 3 ReportThe last day turned out to be quite a handful in terms of sales.&nbsp; Most of our shirts were out, since we never really considered to properly calculate our tshirt stock.&nbsp; But since we were able to make good sales on the last two days, every sale we have today is considered enough to deal with overhead expenses. We ran out of Big Bang shirts and we are left with whatever is left to sell.&nbsp; But as I said earlier, since we made good sales, we could buy another set of collectibles if ever we find one.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-FCZ7SCza7gE/T-bBcoiXo6I/AAAAAAAAAmo/wCPIscQSfxg/s1600/IMG_6537.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-FCZ7SCza7gE/T-bBcoiXo6I/AAAAAAAAAmo/wCPIscQSfxg/s400/IMG_6537.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />I actually stumbled into the Pepsi Nex Gundam Bear Char Zaku, including this very detailed figure of a Zaku I that was similar to my <a href="http://evaguy01.blogspot.com/2011/11/anime-festival-asia-2011-day-2.html" target="_blank">Zaku cosplay in Singapore's Anime Festival Asia</a>. What's special about the Gundam Bear is that its original, as compared to my previous findings. <a href="http://eva-guy01.deviantart.com/art/Gundam-Bears-211973595?q=boost%3Apopular%20gundam%20bears&amp;qo=15" target="_blank">(photo 1)</a> <a href="http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10150857607765423&amp;set=a.95960370422.101732.572280422&amp;type=3&amp;theater" target="_blank">(photo 2)</a><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-eiQhiwvtroo/T-bC6rbW8pI/AAAAAAAAAmw/AfEPFh6OJH0/s1600/IMG_6539.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-eiQhiwvtroo/T-bC6rbW8pI/AAAAAAAAAmw/AfEPFh6OJH0/s400/IMG_6539.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />Also found these cool Evangelion 2.0 figures that are just 2.5 inches high.&nbsp; Its not shown in the picture but these came with accessories that include a thermal shield, guns and vibro-knife.&nbsp; Too bad though the EVA-01's horn was half missing, but the overall was still ok.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-uM3dfD4jbgk/T-bDlAj2afI/AAAAAAAAAm4/AFLISCRI5p8/s1600/IMG_6540.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-uM3dfD4jbgk/T-bDlAj2afI/AAAAAAAAAm4/AFLISCRI5p8/s400/IMG_6540.jpg" width="266" /></a></div><br />This was the last one bought, just within the hour before closing time.&nbsp; I stumbled into this T-800 limited articulation 5 inch figure in the booth just across us.&nbsp; And it was an incredible find for two reasons: (1) it was being sold for only P50 and (2) it was molded from glow-in-the-dark PVC.&nbsp; The gun, I bought from another store that sold figure accessories.&nbsp; Too bad somebody bought all the gatling guns so I opted for the next best thing, the shotgun.<br /><br />Again, the spending didnt even go beyond P450, with the total 3 day spending with only just P1,350.&nbsp; Im happy with what I got and proud to say that some of them are simply gems you cannot just get with the price you haggled for. :)<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-PrAv2kDYEcg/T-bE39E-kTI/AAAAAAAAAnA/z1p18Q3yDvI/s1600/IMG_6542.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-PrAv2kDYEcg/T-bE39E-kTI/AAAAAAAAAnA/z1p18Q3yDvI/s1600/IMG_6542.jpg" /></a></div><br />End of report.eva_guy01http://www.blogger.com/profile/07470400117877255091noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7811074802378800247.post-28371298461935375572012-06-24T00:20:00.004-07:002012-06-25T17:42:32.922-07:00My really late Toycon Day 2 ReportDay 2 was as expected, a whole "universe" of people who took advantage of the weekend to come over and buy stuff at Toycon.&nbsp; Sales were good to the point that we ran out of both the Robotorso and United Colors shirts ran out just after lunch.<br /><br />I came in late that day because the whole morning I was out picking up our second delivery of our shirts, particularly the Big Bang.&nbsp; We had people reserve that shirt since yesterday and they were all scheduled for pick up that day.<br /><br />Also Im glad Toycon also improved its floorplan layout, separating the cosplay "universe" (their new name for their cosplay event) from the sellers floor to avoid last year's fiasco about overenthusiastic cosplay fans bothering the buyers and sellers of Toycon (not against cosplay being a cosplayer myself, but after all, thats why its a Toy Convention, to cater to toy enthusiasts).&nbsp; So since its separate, those who want to check out cosplay event can go to Hall 3, while everything about toys can go to the opposite side of the event.<br /><br />So again I get to find another set of collections that's within my budget.<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-0fqb4R-00kY/T-a6inxsfmI/AAAAAAAAAmU/zN9Dq7MGYQw/s1600/IMG_6510.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-0fqb4R-00kY/T-a6inxsfmI/AAAAAAAAAmU/zN9Dq7MGYQw/s400/IMG_6510.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">These came in a pack and its all made of high impact soft plastic</td></tr></tbody></table>Saw again this treasure of Zeon conscript toys, a ACGuy, Z'Gok and Zock. They were pretty sweet deals considering the Zock was over 5 inches high.<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-jGMTPkpbD2g/T-a6e0WcAUI/AAAAAAAAAl8/YJFewMm8yKM/s1600/IMG_6507.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-jGMTPkpbD2g/T-a6e0WcAUI/AAAAAAAAAl8/YJFewMm8yKM/s400/IMG_6507.jpg" width="266" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Rei taking a break, while the other's body is ready. XD</td></tr></tbody></table>Also, as part of our growing collection and my wife's insistence, our con visit would not be complete without some Rei Ayanami figure hunts.&nbsp; There are a lot, best ones are every expensive.&nbsp; But the beauty of the hunt is to find one that is so unusual yet very affordable.&nbsp; Saw this pair in another toy bucket booth and is now added to our collection display at home.&nbsp; They were original figures although I feel both are loose figures as they came without any form of platform or accessory.&nbsp; Plus the Bread Snack Rei's head was broken from the neck down so I had to repair her when I got to home.<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-2TdYwR4qSTI/T-a6gB1zLGI/AAAAAAAAAmE/kzqJBJsLEeE/s1600/IMG_6508.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-2TdYwR4qSTI/T-a6gB1zLGI/AAAAAAAAAmE/kzqJBJsLEeE/s400/IMG_6508.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I have no idea who they are but they were cute and affordable enough to be collected.</td></tr></tbody></table>Found this set literally in bits and pieces.&nbsp; These were inside Flux's toy box, where I saw the heads, feet, arms, accessories, etc all over the place.&nbsp; Flux told me if I were to find every last piece, he's willing to sell it to me next to nothing.&nbsp; Since I&nbsp; had plenty of spare time in my hands during the lull hours of the t-shirt sale, I knelt down and did some serious digging.&nbsp; I was able to assemble the yellow one on the left and the blue one on the right (who was later identified by my friend Wilson as a figure from the Super Robot Wars series).&nbsp; The middle ones I accidentally assembled because I mistook them as parts of the ones I originally found.&nbsp; In the end, the booth owner gave those two in the middle to me for free.&nbsp; That was awfully nice of him!<br /><br />All in all I was able to spend less than P450 for all of them. <br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-hTXwl0MN-pA/T-a6hUiJatI/AAAAAAAAAmM/7eKFLNYpORw/s1600/IMG_6509.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-hTXwl0MN-pA/T-a6hUiJatI/AAAAAAAAAmM/7eKFLNYpORw/s320/IMG_6509.jpg" width="213" /></a></div><br />Meanwhile, if you remember that almost naked girl figure I bought on the first day, I had clothes made for her and made her our official Chesto Booth model. :)<br /><br />Now on to Day 3.eva_guy01http://www.blogger.com/profile/07470400117877255091noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7811074802378800247.post-10673204522183157822012-06-23T23:32:00.000-07:002012-06-25T17:42:23.824-07:00My really late Toycon Day 1 ReportWARNING PIC HEAVY<br /><br />The annual Toycon started on a Friday, and to make it interesting for me, it became my first time to be there as a seller instead of a buyer (well, most of time anyways).&nbsp; So along with my wife, we were selling our shirts under the brand Chesto featuring my parody and mash-up designs popular pop-culture elements.<br /><br /><div style="font-family: &quot;Trebuchet MS&quot;,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i>In the meantime, visit our <a href="http://www.facebook.com/chesto.shirt" target="_blank">Chesto Facebook page</a> to make this shameless product placement a wee bit worthwhile. :P</i></span></div><br />As expected, since this wasn't the weekend, this was considered the soft opening for the event.&nbsp; Even on a weekday there were a very decent amount of visitors and by 4pm the halls were already full of people (but not full enough to get rid of your oxygen supply-- that im expecting this weekend to happen!).&nbsp; We were able to sell a decent amount of shirts that day and were hoping to get more buyers this weekend.&nbsp; Best seller that day was one of the <a href="http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.367771326612328.82708.367766043279523&amp;type=1" target="_blank">Nippon Humor shirts</a>, particularly the <a href="http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=367771503278977&amp;set=a.367771326612328.82708.367766043279523&amp;type=1&amp;theater" target="_blank">Robotorso</a>.<br /><br />But as usual, it wont be any less meaningful if I attended a Toycon without checking out the toys.&nbsp; Fortunately we were located right beside The Toy Stash booth, which to my surprise was part-owned by Flux, boyfriend of my former classmate in UP Fine Arts, Hiyas.&nbsp; So he graciously gave me free reign over one of his toy boxes and I scrounged for unusual collectibles, and I was not disappointed.<br /><br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-kKhhUSbaVlY/T-Z7T6A9t3I/AAAAAAAAAlE/Uh5bGkDm52s/s1600/IMG_6498.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-kKhhUSbaVlY/T-Z7T6A9t3I/AAAAAAAAAlE/Uh5bGkDm52s/s400/IMG_6498.jpg" width="266" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">4 inches high die-cast with flamer and static pilot figure!</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-qBHOiiCE93w/T-Z7VUDx9jI/AAAAAAAAAlM/u8dRCiFOVzg/s1600/IMG_6499.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-qBHOiiCE93w/T-Z7VUDx9jI/AAAAAAAAAlM/u8dRCiFOVzg/s400/IMG_6499.jpg" width="266" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The helmet opens to reveal pilot.&nbsp; You can remove the head to reveal an empty suit.</td></tr></tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-no5qKARmb0I/T-Z7aGtGiGI/AAAAAAAAAlU/6ULuCjRIBmY/s1600/IMG_6500.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-no5qKARmb0I/T-Z7aGtGiGI/AAAAAAAAAlU/6ULuCjRIBmY/s400/IMG_6500.jpg" width="266" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Either Alex Murphy had major revamps on his hardware, or Darth Vader decided his old suit sucks.</td></tr></tbody></table><br />I was very surprised of my find.&nbsp; I recognized this immediately when I saw its dark drab olive color.&nbsp; And I only saw a picture of the toy in a New Type magazine back in 2004.&nbsp; Its the Power Suit of Starship Troopers. Yes, the one Robert Heinlein wrote and made into a B-movie starring that Guy-who-met-your-mother.&nbsp; After the movie was launched, Japan decided to create a short lived anime that included this design (Although it was never animated/revealed, methinks) but ended up in the <a href="http://www.shopncsx.com/revoltechsci-fino37votomsstudionuedesignversion.aspx" target="_blank">Revoltech series</a>.&nbsp;&nbsp; Flux seemed impressed how I was able to identify it immediately and even offered me the static orange figure that went with it.<br /><br />Later I found this little cute gem of a toy, unusual because of the subject: a marble-spitting SD Godzilla. XD<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-xR1O_RHIJwo/T-Z7bfDcNhI/AAAAAAAAAlc/qj7oe9W-51Q/s1600/IMG_6501.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-xR1O_RHIJwo/T-Z7bfDcNhI/AAAAAAAAAlc/qj7oe9W-51Q/s400/IMG_6501.jpg" width="266" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">2 inch high plastic of awesomeness!</td></tr></tbody></table>I love this guy's gaping expression and the marble that went with it was subtle enough to make it compliment the toy as a whole.&nbsp; I showed this to my wife Jewel and promptly displayed it on our booth desk like a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maneki-neko" target="_blank">Maneki-Neko or Japanese Fortune Cat</a>.&nbsp; Its actually a cute homage considering Godzilla's design was indeed part cat due to its small almost indistinguishable ears.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-6lMJTQIngRo/T-axcPfpAgI/AAAAAAAAAlw/Umes2-OEBD4/s1600/IMG_6502censored.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a></div>Later that day I decided to dig in Flux's box and saw this most unusual thing that I couldnt believe was in the box. It was so obscure that I had no idea where it came from, but I suspect it to be North American in origin as the attempt to make an anime-esque style seemed to fall into the Strange Zone.<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-6lMJTQIngRo/T-axcPfpAgI/AAAAAAAAAlw/Umes2-OEBD4/s1600/IMG_6502censored.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-6lMJTQIngRo/T-axcPfpAgI/AAAAAAAAAlw/Umes2-OEBD4/s400/IMG_6502censored.jpg" width="266" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Yes, she came with the stand, and a pair of panties.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />The last one was the kind of impulse purchase as I never really came across something so, well, it was just like sitting there with no one batting an eye to her direction due to her unusual circumstances.&nbsp; So despite what my wife initially thought of my motives, I bought it anyway and took her home with a plan in mind.<br /><br />The whole bunch didnt fall beyond P400, believe it or not, so I was still within my promised budget of P500 a day collecting toys that are strange enough to be worth keeping.<br /><br />My overall thoughts on the Toycon event itself is that its considered a "slow" day since its the weekday, but it was the last weekday of the salary week that enough con goers passed by to buy enough shirts to pay off the rent. :D<br /><br />Next entry will be about Day 2.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-4792M7pVnoY/T-TFiLB2fHI/AAAAAAAAAkw/vBy2lp_YbVk/s1600/IMG_6499.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br /></a></div>eva_guy01http://www.blogger.com/profile/07470400117877255091noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7811074802378800247.post-65490722159120327672012-06-13T02:17:00.002-07:002012-06-25T17:43:02.209-07:00Pets cosplaying their favorite characters?I am amused as how some event organizers cash in on the cosplay craze and use it to describe costume party events.<br /><br />Case to point: <a href="http://cosplayandcamera.com/cosplay-event-philippines-me-my-pet-cosplay/" target="_blank">Pet Cosplay. </a><br /><br />Making costumes for your pet is a common and generally liked hobby by pet enthusiasts.&nbsp; But to use the word "cosplay" usually brings to mind a mind-boggling marriage between a hobby about wearing costumes of your favorite character, and a creature that generally has a hard time communicating with humans what their favorite is, beyond their familiar comforts such as food, shelter and attention.<br /><br />Cosplay is about wearing the costume of a character you love and admire.<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.walkoffwalk.com/pics/lobster-dog-costume.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="262" src="http://www.walkoffwalk.com/pics/lobster-dog-costume.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Im sure he admires lobsters.</td></tr></tbody></table>I&nbsp; have nothing against owners dressing up their pets.&nbsp; I think its cute that they wear something different once in a while to amuse human beings.&nbsp; I just don't like how Cosplay is being inserted in just about everything concerning costumes.&nbsp; What's next? <a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_iDCESRf5Tqg/S0p6US7Rv2I/AAAAAAAAAKY/GazsYxk4QkQ/s400/Iloilo-Ati-Atihan-Festival-sitewide-2.jpg" target="_blank">Ati-Atihan Cosplay</a>?&nbsp; <a href="http://www.blogger.com/goog_1437006701" target="_blank">Mariones</a><a href="http://tourism-philippines.com/images/fiesta-moriones.jpg" target="_blank"> Cosplay</a>? <br /><br />Going back, I had always hoped that cosplaying would be within the limits of pop-culture and its fandom, normally done inside the confines of a convention.&nbsp; It would help as a reminder that we are there to celebrate one's fandom, that we chose to do so willingly and not forced unto us by higher beings thinking we look cute in them, or its a sure-fire way to win a contest by sacrificing our dignity.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_UahUTWYA-Ig/S64eo4lfwHI/AAAAAAAAAB4/PXOBG6D3UIc/s320/funny-dog-pictures-mcdonalds-humiliation.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_UahUTWYA-Ig/S64eo4lfwHI/AAAAAAAAAB4/PXOBG6D3UIc/s320/funny-dog-pictures-mcdonalds-humiliation.jpg" /></a></div><br /><br />For the record, I'm glad that pets are such forgiving creatures.&nbsp; Either that or very patient ones when it comes to plotting their revenge.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.catster.com/files/post_images/ada3fe9b8020c63d638b8093f5cdc5a0.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="238" src="http://www.catster.com/files/post_images/ada3fe9b8020c63d638b8093f5cdc5a0.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />eva_guy01http://www.blogger.com/profile/07470400117877255091noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7811074802378800247.post-43504122608718911922012-06-13T01:29:00.001-07:002012-06-25T17:43:26.690-07:00Its been a while<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://abluesummer.files.wordpress.com/2012/02/rage-face-axe-man-02.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="217" src="http://abluesummer.files.wordpress.com/2012/02/rage-face-axe-man-02.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>Its been a while since I last posted.&nbsp; For the past month there has been so many things I'd like to say about cosplay but I just end up deleting the whole entry because it reads like <a href="http://miami.cbslocal.com/2012/05/26/miami-police-confrontation-men-leaves-1-dead-1-hurt/" target="_blank">I overdosed myself in LSD and is now looking for a face to chew on.</a><br /><br />But in the end, I realized its just wasn't worth the time to mull over as there are much better things to work on like preparing for upcoming <a href="http://cosplay.ph/microsites/cosmania/wp/torch.html" target="_blank">Cosplay Tournament of Champions</a> and <a href="http://cosplaymania.com/" target="_blank">Cosplay Mania</a>.&nbsp; In the end I'm glad I didnt go through my initial foam-in-the-mouth rants as a few days later I read this article by cosplayer Jin Joson called <a href="http://behindinfinity.deviantart.com/journal/On-misunderstandings-about-cosplay-306629344" target="_blank">"The Misunderstandings about Cosplay"</a> and my faith is restored.<br /><br /><div style="font-family: &quot;Trebuchet MS&quot;,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i>If you don't know who <a href="http://jinjoson.com/" target="_blank">Jin Joson</a> is, then it's high time that you should go beyond the media drivel of "cosplay gods and goddesses" labels and get to know her, as she is in my opinion the best person to represent the virtues of cosplaying.</i></span></div><br />A lot of people tend to follow only the surface and never dig deeper as their reasons are never really about the hobby but about other things.&nbsp; Don't worry, I totally understand that one.&nbsp; A friend may have invited you to join in without providing any real insight, or discovered your crush has joined the ranks and wanted to be part of it just to be close, or you saw the success on TV and decided its a stepping stone to fame and fortune-- these can be legitimate stepping stones in trying to find out the real core of the matter regarding cosplay.&nbsp; That is, if you are even willing to take that one crucial step beyond that.&nbsp; But since not many people are really the research type and are more of "im-just-here-for-the-moment", they probably wouldn't care less about the hobby's core concept and history and just go with the flow and make things up as they go along.&nbsp; <i>"Walang basagan ng trip".</i>&nbsp; To each his/her own.<br /><br />The sad thing about this is that some of the media (traditional and new), in their goal of making things more interesting, make things up and label it as their "their own style" just to make theirs different and yet use the same word to describe them.&nbsp; Sooner or later, the Apples and Oranges comparison will no longer exist, as the end product will most likely have no resemblance other than the kind that stink.<br /><br />But I'm just glad that there are still those who do it right.&nbsp; I was asked time and again that maybe I should be more vocal about my views or even be more involved.&nbsp; I am in my own way, through this blogs, through the events I help organizing, and by example.&nbsp; I'm not after sending a loud message for the masses, just a clear whisper for the few willing to listen or having the patience and insight to ask.eva_guy01http://www.blogger.com/profile/07470400117877255091noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7811074802378800247.post-85189792394495686242012-04-09T17:49:00.002-07:002012-04-09T20:32:29.909-07:00What the Internet taught me about Holy WeekAdvisory: This entry may contain several Christian references and practices that may be unfamiliar to readers, but are welcome to read and understand.<br /><br />Holy Week has come and gone, and we are again reminded of how much was sacrificed to save what remains of our faith and continue on learning how to live by it.&nbsp; But as the long weekend has passed, I have arguably spent a good amount of my non-working 5 day vacation sitting in front of the computer (or cellphone thanks to WiFi) either finishing up other projects, playing games or surfing the internet.&nbsp; And in the internet is where I would mostly try to figure out the world around me and how things have progressed as time passes by.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-RxjE64q63Fw/T4N4vFhMsYI/AAAAAAAAAeQ/KaJpO1nHEIU/s1600/cross.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-RxjE64q63Fw/T4N4vFhMsYI/AAAAAAAAAeQ/KaJpO1nHEIU/s320/cross.jpg" width="198" /></a></div>I'm sure you've stumbled into this picture before (see left).&nbsp; This picture and what it triggered has intrigued me for the past two days.&nbsp; It was spreading like wildfire in Facebook and other social media.&nbsp; And the comments ranged from pity to fire-and-brimstone flaming.<br /><i><br /></i><br /><i>"<span class="commentBody" data-jsid="text">Galing mo,,ginawa mong laruan ang krus na sya tumubos sa kasalanan ng tao."</span></i><br /><br /><i><span class="commentBody" data-jsid="text">"</span><span class="commentBody" data-jsid="text">Oh. Such a disgrace :("</span><span class="commentBody" data-jsid="text">&nbsp;</span></i><br /><br /><i><span class="commentBody" data-jsid="text">"</span><span class="commentBody" data-jsid="text">what's great with those pictures? all I can see was full of thrases with people there disrespecting our God. They don't even know what they were doing and yet they are having a good time. Such worthless creatures that doesn't deserve God's Love."</span></i><br /><br /><span class="commentBody" data-jsid="text">&nbsp;And this is just the tip of the iceberg.&nbsp; More so with those posting in the cosplay community where I'm in, and the posts were as unflattering as what I just mentioned here.&nbsp; Honestly I felt shock when I saw this picture, but kept quiet because I wanted to know how exactly did this happen.&nbsp; Eventually I stumbled upon the <a href="http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.282067631872298.67712.100002071898804&amp;type=3" target="_blank">Facebook album</a> where it originated and also read an <a href="http://all-about-news.com/girl-on-cross-picture-rages-opinions/" target="_blank">online article describing the event</a> and eventually concluded that the cross was actually part of a tourist attraction in Angeles, Pampanga for photo ops.</span><span class="commentBody" data-jsid="text"></span><br /><br />I felt sad how much internet culture has permitted us to spread news like wildfire and post comments without any thought of consequence.&nbsp; Many have already condemned the woman for violating our religious icon by posing sexily for photos, without giving any thought of why she did it.&nbsp; Is she even Catholic?&nbsp; Is she local? A foreigner who knew no better?&nbsp; Why isnt anyone surrounding her stopping her from climbing up the cross and be photographed?&nbsp; <a href="http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.282067631872298.67712.100002071898804&amp;type=3" target="_blank">And why are there several pictures of other people doing the same thing</a>?<br /><br />Questions no doubt will probably be answered soon, thanks to our <a href="http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/lifestyle/04/09/12/girl-skimpy-clothes-poses-front-cross-sparks-outrage" target="_blank">local media</a> finally getting hold of the story.&nbsp; I hear it was already featured on TV.&nbsp; And the contents actually, in their own little way, lectured to those who callously called the woman a sinner, hypocrite, disbeliever and such, to take time to look into themselves and ask how pure their intentions were in the first place.&nbsp; Which makes me wonder how selective we are in determining which is considered blasphamous and which is considered tolerable, particularly in the anime and cosplay community.<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-j6k9RL8wg9A/T4N_PBtZRnI/AAAAAAAAAeY/QsomROaB7Qs/s1600/Tokyo-Babylon.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-j6k9RL8wg9A/T4N_PBtZRnI/AAAAAAAAAeY/QsomROaB7Qs/s320/Tokyo-Babylon.jpg" width="221" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">&nbsp;Tokyo Babylon Cross Fashion</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-BHYkOgOR1gw/T4N_QU6EwLI/AAAAAAAAAeg/dEyo-cMUUxI/s1600/Wolfwood_id_trigun_maximum_by_samanosuke89.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-BHYkOgOR1gw/T4N_QU6EwLI/AAAAAAAAAeg/dEyo-cMUUxI/s320/Wolfwood_id_trigun_maximum_by_samanosuke89.jpg" width="213" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cross-motiff gun to destroy a lot of things</td></tr></tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-AYHIG8o_-JQ/T4OCGVNawZI/AAAAAAAAAe4/32sthuAToi4/s1600/CROSS_REI_Comp007.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-AYHIG8o_-JQ/T4OCGVNawZI/AAAAAAAAAe4/32sthuAToi4/s320/CROSS_REI_Comp007.jpg" width="261" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Rei chained to cross in sexy dress. Nuff said.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;">And I'm pretty sure even popular artists are very much into these things.</div><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-qyiSIEGtOrU/T4N_uDaev7I/AAAAAAAAAeo/PTp6QIQYIIw/s1600/gaga+cross.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-qyiSIEGtOrU/T4N_uDaev7I/AAAAAAAAAeo/PTp6QIQYIIw/s1600/gaga+cross.jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Or some might call, Gaga on a Stick.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-pTa7I_Y_SVU/T4N_vA6rWkI/AAAAAAAAAew/aas0fTascK4/s1600/madonna-on-cross.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="315" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-pTa7I_Y_SVU/T4N_vA6rWkI/AAAAAAAAAew/aas0fTascK4/s320/madonna-on-cross.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Madonna, obviously not singing "Like a Virgin"</td></tr></tbody></table><br />So at the end of the day, I often wonder if i'm the only one who seems strange enough to say that somehow, these images don't disturb me enough to make me go raging over the internet.&nbsp; Is it because I have a good sense of humor?&nbsp; A sizable level of tolerance?&nbsp; Or because I'm pretty much jaded by what's been going on these days?&nbsp; Probably a little of everything.&nbsp; But once in a while I always thought that we are all very much human in so many ways, that I am reminded that perhaps God designed us that way, so that in the end we would realize our mistakes and move on to become better human beings.<br /><br />I think that's a much better deal than being born completely perfect.eva_guy01http://www.blogger.com/profile/07470400117877255091noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7811074802378800247.post-67553336248443003372012-03-26T19:43:00.003-07:002012-04-05T17:58:32.514-07:00Run Robot, Run!<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Vu62gLmPFrY/T3Ee5uGLToI/AAAAAAAAAcU/41uLhzvwHio/s1600/run03.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Vu62gLmPFrY/T3Ee5uGLToI/AAAAAAAAAcU/41uLhzvwHio/s400/run03.jpg" width="266" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">National Geographic presents... um...</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr></tbody></table>Or How I survived my first 500m Run in a mecha costume.<br /><br />Last Sunday I joined a fun run organized by a cable channel network called <a href="http://runrio.com/2012/02/fox-international-channel-run-fic-run/" target="_blank">Fox Entertainment</a> (yep, same company with 20th Century Fox).&nbsp; Fox Entertainment approached Cosplay.ph to help out promote the run and gather cosplayers interested in this unusual activity, and I felt the need to make sure the cosplay mecha category would get represented. XD<br /><br />Of course when I presented the invitation to a Mecha and Armor Facebook group that I joined, some commented, some reacted, but a lot seemed to find the idea hilariously suicidal.&nbsp; But despite that I decided to be <i>less </i>suicidal about it and took on the challenge.<br /><br />The only mecha costume I have was my <a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-odHAZkSOWIo/Ts0a8lplgVI/AAAAAAAAAOU/K3R83kcbShI/s1600/IMG_3926.jpg" target="_blank">Zaku I</a> that I wore in Singapore in last year's <a href="http://evaguy01.blogspot.com/2011/11/anime-festival-asia-2011-day-1.html" target="_blank">Anime</a> <a href="http://evaguy01.blogspot.com/2011/11/anime-festival-asia-2011-day-2.html" target="_blank">Festival</a> <a href="http://evaguy01.blogspot.com/2011/11/anime-festival-asia-2011-day-3-nov-13.html" target="_blank">Asia</a>.&nbsp; Of course I would not touch my wife's <a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Dc3Jjyg8EkQ/Ts-LqmqNVhI/AAAAAAAAAR8/GSENYp7aezU/s1600/PB130185.jpg" target="_blank">black Zaku II</a> and risk a heavy karate chop at the back of my skull, so I proceeded to plan a way to join the run without destroying my pride and joy.<br /><br />My first challenge was to make sure I was very mobile, so I decided not to use all of the parts except the helmet and the chest.&nbsp; Everything else I tried replicating using cushion foam, the kind used for car seats and couches.&nbsp; So off I went to Divisoria on a Sunday but couldn't find any green color available, so I opted for a grey and blue, and bought green latex paint instead.<br /><br />Fashioning parts from foam is harder than it looks.&nbsp; It's so soft, it was like trying to glue together cloth but building it like a cardboard box.&nbsp; Took a lot of trial and error but with the help of my friend Ricki we were able to build one on time.&nbsp; We took the whole Saturday before the race to build it.<br /><br />Wilson and Addy, along with Ricki, spent the night over at my house so we can attend the race at 5am the next day.&nbsp; Jewel couldn't join, as she will be busy at home that time, but gave me a good luck kiss before we left. Wilson cosplayed as the hilariously funny <a href="http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=195196787258426&amp;set=a.195196597258445.39813.100003043188439&amp;type=3" target="_blank">Phoenix Wright</a> while Addy came as <a href="http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=195196787258426&amp;set=a.195196597258445.39813.100003043188439&amp;type=3" target="_blank">Claymore</a>.&nbsp; Ricki, wanting to join my attempts to run in mecha, came in his awesome <a href="http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=195196720591766&amp;set=a.195196597258445.39813.100003043188439&amp;type=3" target="_blank">Iron Man Mark 1</a> costume!<br /><br />The run was scheduled to start at 6am and there were 50 participants in the run, including two full fledged company mascots, one of them was <a href="http://popsop.com/wp-content/uploads/chupa_chups_chuck.jpg" target="_blank">Chuck of Chupa Chupps</a> lollipops!&nbsp; There was another cosplayer in full gear Monster Hunter costume, and we were even joined by an <a href="http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=195197100591728&amp;set=a.195196597258445.39813.100003043188439&amp;type=3" target="_blank">X-Man Cyclops</a> and even a movie version of Captain America!&nbsp; But I love this family who joined the race as <a href="http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=195196840591754&amp;set=a.195196597258445.39813.100003043188439&amp;type=3" target="_blank">The Flintstones</a>, now that's awesome!<br /><br />We were waiting for the countdown for the race to start, and everyone was in an excited mood, and there were tons of jokes on how the race would end.&nbsp; It was also so cute that there lots of kids in costumes who joined as well, props to the kid who came as <a href="http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=195197563925015&amp;set=a.195196597258445.39813.100003043188439&amp;type=3" target="_blank">Aang of Legend of the Avatar</a> (probably as the Book of Fire version, with the mop of hair, hehe). My friend Guy Singzon, known for his awesome armor costumes, showed his crazy side this time by running with <a href="http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=195197327258372&amp;set=a.195196597258445.39813.100003043188439&amp;type=3" target="_blank">a giant raw uncooked <strike>chicken</strike> turkey for a head</a> (photographed with Cosplay.ph President, Jedi Pablo Bairan as he prepares to carve him).&nbsp; He kept telling everybody good luck and "see you at the hospital!"&nbsp; By coincidence, there <i>was</i> a hospital not far from the race, and everyone joked the finish line would be at the Emergency Room door.<br /><br />The run finally started, and my friend Jason (who wore a <a href="http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=195197383925033&amp;set=a.195196597258445.39813.100003043188439&amp;type=3" target="_blank">Bleach Shinigami costume</a>) recorded the whole ordeal (at least it was for me, haha) with his trusty video cam and uploaded it for all to see.&nbsp; Click the image below to take you to the video in Facebook.<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=397210603641316" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-1vmDZY6WgjE/T3EYwuTomyI/AAAAAAAAAbA/KJyqoP6N7rc/s320/zaku-run.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">See any kids behind me? Nope, no kids behind me. Only a creepy blue suited lawyer.</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">&nbsp;XD</td></tr></tbody></table>I was just glad I survived all 500 meters of the run.&nbsp; I stopped to walk 3/4th of the way for a few seconds to catch my breath, but then I saw the finish line and started running again, enough to make sure I wasn't the last one to finish, heheh.<br /><br />After the run the other regular runners as usual asked for our pictures taken and received our freebies of energy drinks and toothpaste (Yes!&nbsp; You should have good strong teeth while running, for that winning Finish Line Smile!).&nbsp; We walked back to the Cosplay.ph tent to receive our well-deserved souvenir pins.<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-D3Hk1WXXJ90/T3EaTMWAvMI/AAAAAAAAAbM/idfsYVlJWTA/s1600/run+pin.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-D3Hk1WXXJ90/T3EaTMWAvMI/AAAAAAAAAbM/idfsYVlJWTA/s320/run+pin.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I Survived the 500m Run in Costume!</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr></tbody></table>Awards were given in front of the Cosplay.ph tent and presented by me and Pablo the cosplayers for the following:<br /><br /><b>Best Male</b> in Costume (Captain America)<br /><b>Best Female</b> in Costume (<a href="http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=195197280591710&amp;set=a.195196597258445.39813.100003043188439&amp;type=3" target="_blank">Sailor Saturn</a>)<br /><b>Best Mecha/Monster</b> (Monster Hunter).<br /><br />There were also other unusual awards like:<br /><b>Against All Odds</b> - finishing the race despite the encumbering costume (Iron Man Mk1 - Congrats Ricki!)<br /><b>What-The-Hell Award</b> (Phoenix Wright - Congrats Wilson!)<br /><b>Rainbow Award</b> (Tekken Lili crossplayer, who was the most hardcore of all us for <b>running the race in high heel boots!</b>)<br /><b>Fast Track Award</b> for most athletic-looking (Richter Belmont of Castlevania - <a href="http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=195201283924643&amp;set=a.195196597258445.39813.100003043188439&amp;type=3" target="_blank">Congrats Ryan!</a>).<br /><br />We ended the morning by taking back all our calories spent at running with a hearty breakfast at Jollibee.&nbsp; Thanks again to Ricki for helping me build the foam Zaku, and Wilson and Addy for running with me, and providing these awesome photos, along with Erving Go.&nbsp; Enjoy the pics below!<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-owFPQQIyv5k/T3EduNfTT-I/AAAAAAAAAbo/bacY2qtKX3o/s1600/run01.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-owFPQQIyv5k/T3EduNfTT-I/AAAAAAAAAbo/bacY2qtKX3o/s400/run01.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Overtaken by children! Curses! They must be Newtypes!</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-y2dVEA4tNZg/T3EdutGvv1I/AAAAAAAAAbw/39za1o4XmC0/s1600/run02.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-y2dVEA4tNZg/T3EdutGvv1I/AAAAAAAAAbw/39za1o4XmC0/s400/run02.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">For the record, that little girl in the pink shirt and white tutu dress was race's first place fastest female costumed runner. :P</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-eWZM7V5W960/T3EdwEO8pwI/AAAAAAAAAcA/MhbRp6R_Ins/s1600/run04.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="265" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-eWZM7V5W960/T3EdwEO8pwI/AAAAAAAAAcA/MhbRp6R_Ins/s400/run04.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Our group photo, incomplete though but good enough.</td></tr></tbody></table>Come Monday yesterday, Fox released <a href="http://runrio.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/Fox-International-Channel-Run-2012-Overall-Results-500m-1.pdf" target="_blank">the results</a> of the 500 meter run and it turned out I was 40th place out of 50 participants.&nbsp; It was beyond my expectations considering I felt so slow thanks to the bulk I was carrying around.&nbsp; But I was proud enough to post it in Facebook for my friends to see.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-6W6WqZqeSiE/T3Em1r0qySI/AAAAAAAAAc0/CbMfPbv07sw/s1600/badass.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="321" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-6W6WqZqeSiE/T3Em1r0qySI/AAAAAAAAAc0/CbMfPbv07sw/s400/badass.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />There were positive reactions from the community about this first ever unusual costume run and they are hoping for another shot at it next year, if Fox or anyone else decides to organize this again.&nbsp; As for me, I guess it would be good motivation to be fit again, but as a mecha?&nbsp; Well, I'll think about it.eva_guy01http://www.blogger.com/profile/07470400117877255091noreply@blogger.com1Fort Bonifacio, Taguig City, Philippines14.548869828506231 121.0503137470825514.538552328506231 121.04072674708256 14.55918732850623 121.05990074708255tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7811074802378800247.post-79243009612619103902012-03-10T18:02:00.000-08:002012-03-10T18:02:30.556-08:00Rest in Peace<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-9NX4yMMqcAk/T1wHWXdcffI/AAAAAAAAAaM/-4l_ZlaXqFE/s1600/moebius-08.gif" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-9NX4yMMqcAk/T1wHWXdcffI/AAAAAAAAAaM/-4l_ZlaXqFE/s400/moebius-08.gif" width="305" /></a></div><h6 class="uiStreamMessage" data-ft="{&quot;type&quot;:1}" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span class="messageBody" data-ft="{&quot;type&quot;:3}"></span></span></h6><h6 class="uiStreamMessage" data-ft="{&quot;type&quot;:1}" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span class="messageBody" data-ft="{&quot;type&quot;:3}">This was the first time I encountered the artist Moebius, his artwork of a man riding a pterodactyle-like beast. Being 14 years old and weaned on a diet of Star Wars and Thundercats, this image of a man riding a giant bird may seem regular to you, but it was awesome for me, enough to influence for a few years the way I drew and imagined science fiction. True enough, and thanks to my best friend'<span class="text_exposed_show">s dad, who happened to be an avid collector of Heavy Metal, I read the full story of this bird-riding man (later on discovered to be Arzach), and everything else that followed. It blew me away that he was behind several costume designs for scifi movies, one of which was the first TRON.<br /><br />Now im equally blown when I found out he died yesterday. <br /><br />I always wanted to meet the man and his art, but I guess I'll just have to be satisfied with just his art.<br /><br />Rest in Peace, Jean Giraud.</span></span></span></h6><h6 class="uiStreamMessage" data-ft="{&quot;type&quot;:1}" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span class="messageBody" data-ft="{&quot;type&quot;:3}"><span class="text_exposed_show"><br /><a href="http://www.moebius.fr/" rel="nofollow nofollow" target="_blank">http://www.moebius.fr/</a></span></span></span></h6>eva_guy01http://www.blogger.com/profile/07470400117877255091noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7811074802378800247.post-25044166621668977752012-01-29T22:03:00.000-08:002012-01-29T22:03:55.518-08:00Words of the past : Reflections of the presentI bumped into this old interview article back in 2007 where a multimedia reporter for Inquirer.net, Ms. Erika Tapella, asked me for an online interview regarding the topic of Philippine Cosplay.&nbsp; This particular segment that I cropped made me pause a bit because it somewhat reflected what I believed cosplay is then and what I hope would become in the next coming years.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ozbZPspGyDk/Tx6UjWTuWvI/AAAAAAAAAZo/Pb6Ut7vkecI/s1600/cphil.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ozbZPspGyDk/Tx6UjWTuWvI/AAAAAAAAAZo/Pb6Ut7vkecI/s1600/cphil.jpg" /></a></div><br />I cannot say much about my first wish.&nbsp; Years after the interview I realized that it doesn't really matter, since you cant please everybody, and there will always someone completely biased regarding cosplayers: and with good reason, since it takes just a few to stereotype the whole.&nbsp; And of course, there will always be people who simply like to give the community a good prodding just for the pleasure of seeing it squirm.&nbsp; Welcome to the internet, so they say.<br /><br />As for my second wish mentioned, I think its safe to say it's still happening, at least on the surface.&nbsp; Four years later I often think if we are walking in the right direction, at least when it comes to international recognition as a community, not just individual achievements.&nbsp; <br /><br />What do you think?eva_guy01http://www.blogger.com/profile/07470400117877255091noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7811074802378800247.post-72108516768940115872012-01-23T17:21:00.000-08:002012-01-23T17:34:03.044-08:00Reviving Past CosplaysWhenever I look back on my past 11 years of cosplay, the thought of reviving some of my past cosplay costumes came to mind.&nbsp; I was thinking that I should try applying what I know now on costumes that were back in the day, the best effort I could give with whatever budget and material limitations given to me on that particular point in time.<br /><br />Listed here are my top five costumes I would like to repeat again, this time with better materials and techniques.<br /><br /><a name='more'></a><br /><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-xK7iiZpVgac/Txy20eQ6fzI/AAAAAAAAAYw/y8tCwMd1eMs/s1600/56.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-xK7iiZpVgac/Txy20eQ6fzI/AAAAAAAAAYw/y8tCwMd1eMs/s320/56.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Power Extreme!</td></tr></tbody></table><b><span style="font-family: &quot;Trebuchet MS&quot;,sans-serif; font-size: large;">Jake Rockwell</span> of the Centurions</b><br /><b>[Status: destroyed and recycled]&nbsp;</b><br /><b><br /></b><br />This costume made its debut back in 2002 Culture Crash Convention<b>.&nbsp; </b>I was a huge fan of the Hanna Barbara cartoon Centurions (who btw, was one of the first western shows that applied/hired Japanese animators to do the striking signature visuals common with anime today).&nbsp; I had it down pat on accuracy regarding weapon systems being removable, but on the weapon design itself I used whatever available similarly shaped materials at that time (soda bottles, bottle caps, etc).&nbsp; And the shoulder bazooka was originally designed to launch a styrofoam missile, in which the rubber band trigger snapped at the last moment onstage.&nbsp; Not to mention the paint job, which has none whatsoever.&nbsp; It was solely dependent on the color of the rubber sheet, as my limited savings as a student (plus some art sidelines) did not permit me buying any paint and brushes. <br /><br />I always considered recreating this one, but I often hesitated, as I wanted all three Centurions to be present.&nbsp; Kinda like the cosplaying the Three Musketeers with just one guy showing up.&nbsp; So until the day I actually convince two more people to cosplay the other Centurions, this one would be placed at the bottom of the priority list.<br /><br />Here's a sample video of the series I used to cosplay. Click on the pic to open a new window to YouTube. Enjoy!<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://youtu.be/pkiqbsaX3eE" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="195" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-8xuoUJclbjk/Txy_GCj22vI/AAAAAAAAAY4/VFehk56DEi8/s320/centurions-cartoon.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-l1feTp90ji4/Tx13YVSJLqI/AAAAAAAAAZQ/IUelSX4M2aI/s1600/fancy-horz.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="31" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-l1feTp90ji4/Tx13YVSJLqI/AAAAAAAAAZQ/IUelSX4M2aI/s400/fancy-horz.jpg" width="400" /></a> </div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ePDIg5SZ4mE/Tx1T7Q_OBsI/AAAAAAAAAZA/bdyC7y00M7A/s1600/50.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ePDIg5SZ4mE/Tx1T7Q_OBsI/AAAAAAAAAZA/bdyC7y00M7A/s320/50.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><b><span style="font-family: &quot;Trebuchet MS&quot;,sans-serif; font-size: large;">Eva-00</span> of Neon Genesis Evangelion</b><br /><b>[Status: destroyed and recycled]</b><b> </b><br /><b><br /></b><br />I was never happy with the outcome of this costume, even though I can safely say I was one of the very few cosplayers worldwide to ever cosplay Eva-00 of NGE back in 2001.<b>&nbsp; </b>Looking back, <b>it was a terrible costume.&nbsp; </b>Granted the upper body was more accurate than my older Eva-01 but let's be honest, I was wearing black jeans where its supposed to be white armor.&nbsp; The shoulder fins were made of rubber sheet, but it was wobbly.&nbsp; It was simply a hodge-podge costume made in a rush.&nbsp; Another reason why I gave this a thought is because no one else in the cosplay community decided to cosplay it.&nbsp; I saw the wonderful rendition of <a href="http://www.cosplay.ph/resume/viewcostume.php?costume_id=8018" target="_blank">Robert Ong's Eva-01</a> and <a href="http://www.cosplay.ph/resume/viewcostume.php?costume_id=6293" target="_blank">NERV Pilipina's Eva-02</a>, but nobody seemed to bother to cosplay Rei Ayanami's giant robot.&nbsp; It's sad, at least for me.&nbsp; So much that maybe, just maybe if I can shed some pounds I may do it again just to relive the love.<br /><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="200" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/-ZywuUgKY2E" width="320"></iframe></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-l1feTp90ji4/Tx13YVSJLqI/AAAAAAAAAZQ/IUelSX4M2aI/s1600/fancy-horz.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="31" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-l1feTp90ji4/Tx13YVSJLqI/AAAAAAAAAZQ/IUelSX4M2aI/s400/fancy-horz.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-x63GQct9qDE/Tx12XSro_ZI/AAAAAAAAAZI/C8ZVHJV2vX4/s1600/57.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-x63GQct9qDE/Tx12XSro_ZI/AAAAAAAAAZI/C8ZVHJV2vX4/s320/57.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><b><span style="font-family: &quot;Trebuchet MS&quot;,sans-serif; font-size: large;">Cyclone Mecha</span> of Robotech Saga</b><br /><b>[Status: destroyed and recycled]</b><br /><br />Robotech (and later, the original Macross, Mospeada and Southern Cross) was for me the most epic English-dubbed North American licensed anime and defined my love to the art of anime mecha.&nbsp; So it was only natural that I chose Scott Bernard's Cyclone Mecha (or more like exosuit)<b>.&nbsp; </b>This was my first cosplay costume where I had one part of the costume commissioned, which was the helmet, made by a costume maker in Divisoria called The Feather Shop.&nbsp; They hurdled the problem of domed visors by making a chicken-wire mold and then covered it with black cloth, which was semi-transparent but because of the cloth, looked like some sort of one way glass (we can see outside but our faces are still obscured).&nbsp; Although I saw this costume as a success, I still wanted to take another step and make the costume more anime-accurate by making it transform from exosuit to motorcycle.<br /><br />After studying the design, I knew it would be possible with lightweight aluminum frames.&nbsp; Its just a matter of when I can showcase the costume, at a con that would be the most appreciated (oh when will there be a Philippine version of <a href="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v318/kiririth/MWCon10FlierSmallDetails.jpg" target="_blank">Macross World Con</a> or <a href="http://www.robotech.com/news/viewarticle.php?id=455" target="_blank">Robotech Con</a>?).<br /><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="200" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/x31eMNCa7Qg" width="320"></iframe></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-l1feTp90ji4/Tx13YVSJLqI/AAAAAAAAAZQ/IUelSX4M2aI/s1600/fancy-horz.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="31" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-l1feTp90ji4/Tx13YVSJLqI/AAAAAAAAAZQ/IUelSX4M2aI/s400/fancy-horz.jpg" width="400" /></a> </div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-aP7iRHT7lIY/Tx1-oBEw4WI/AAAAAAAAAZY/dOVzBPdU0g0/s1600/61.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-aP7iRHT7lIY/Tx1-oBEw4WI/AAAAAAAAAZY/dOVzBPdU0g0/s320/61.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><b><span style="font-family: &quot;Trebuchet MS&quot;,sans-serif; font-size: large;">General Grievous</span> of Star Wars </b><br /><b>[Status: destroyed and recycled]</b><br /><br />This costume has its similarities with my Eva-00 cosplay: wonderful innovation but half-assed production.<b> </b>The wonderful part is that I was able to replicate the <a href="http://cosplay.ph/images/photoalbum/2655.jpg" target="_blank">character's</a> <a href="http://cosplay.ph/images/photoalbum/2675.jpg" target="_blank">signature</a> <a href="http://cosplay.ph/images/photoalbum/2656.jpg" target="_blank">move</a>: his arms splitting to four, each with a lightsaber in hand.&nbsp; But the legs fell apart early in the event and most of my pictures afterwards looked liked my character was <a href="http://cosplay.ph/images/photoalbum/653.jpg" target="_blank">suffering from polio</a>.&nbsp; Plus it had no lights for eyes and I felt it wasn't mechanical enough to make it look like a droid/cyborg.<br /><br />And add to the fact that the costume was made for a convention that will come out mere days after the first showing of Star Wars Episode 3, so my main source of inspiration came from the Star Wars Cartoon Network version, which by the way, was more kick-ass than his movie counterpart.&nbsp; I'd like to one day get the chance to improve on the costume, maybe make the head more as a hat with mechanical parts, to make it more menacing in size, or perhaps give justice to his allure as a warrior that doesn't rely on the Force to fight. <br /><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="200" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/WIj7gIDFDe4" width="320"></iframe></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-l1feTp90ji4/Tx13YVSJLqI/AAAAAAAAAZQ/IUelSX4M2aI/s1600/fancy-horz.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="31" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-l1feTp90ji4/Tx13YVSJLqI/AAAAAAAAAZQ/IUelSX4M2aI/s400/fancy-horz.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-hHaww7CqO_4/Tx2B1d8ycNI/AAAAAAAAAZg/FfSkLrhUtNI/s1600/69.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-hHaww7CqO_4/Tx2B1d8ycNI/AAAAAAAAAZg/FfSkLrhUtNI/s320/69.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><b><span style="font-family: &quot;Trebuchet MS&quot;,sans-serif; font-size: large;">Tachikoma</span> of Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex</b><br /><b>[Status: abandoned and disposed by mall]</b><br /><br />This would probably be my best mecha costume due to its quality vs budget ratio: the costume you see in the picture only cost me less than P980 total.&nbsp; It was made from scrap, bamboo and 1mm rubber sheet skin.&nbsp; It had no electronic sounds or lights, and my legs were sticking out of the bottom of its abdomen, as the whole idea was based on a wheelbarrow.&nbsp; I left it at the con grounds after, since it was more expensive shipping it back home.&nbsp; The event organizers didn't mind and I don't know whether they took it home whole or used its parts for scrap.<br /><br /><b> </b><br />I thought of trying it out again since the design base is very simple, but this time with a bigger budget and better materials.&nbsp; Maybe I can make a design that would require me to completely ride the costume, or make the costume more size accurate, as my original cosplay was a foot shorter than the anime specs.&nbsp; Also, some of my friends wanted to cosplay characters from the anime, in particular the main character Major Makoto Kusinagi, and would love to have a Tachikoma with them during the convention.&nbsp; It's something to think about, especially since one of my friends already cosplayed her, <a href="http://www.cosplay.ph/resume/viewcostume.php?costume_id=548" target="_blank">and cosplayed her very well.</a> :D<br /><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="200" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/fNrQtSs3seM" width="320"></iframe></div><br /><br />So this is my wish list for either this year or the coming years, depending on my current situation and budget constraints.&nbsp; I wont mind creating new costumes, but sometimes you got to go back and revive the love of the character because I felt it wasn't enough back then.<br /><br />So I guess its time I'd warm up the drawing board.eva_guy01http://www.blogger.com/profile/07470400117877255091noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7811074802378800247.post-48936028844821198722012-01-22T04:50:00.000-08:002012-01-23T17:22:42.186-08:00La Salle Comic Con: Thoughts and Review<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-lA1vo2X-RPY/Txttv8Cz7uI/AAAAAAAAAXI/H3z8uhCymA0/s1600/378953_151624734943558_151113608328004_171531_152275784_n.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-lA1vo2X-RPY/Txttv8Cz7uI/AAAAAAAAAXI/H3z8uhCymA0/s320/378953_151624734943558_151113608328004_171531_152275784_n.jpg" width="226" /></a></div>Last Wednesday, La Salle Taft had its first convention about the popular media called comics, and not surprisingly the event was called the La Salle Comic Con.&nbsp; <br /><br />The first time I heard of this con was last year early December, as I received a formal invitation coming from a Miss Risse Flores asking if I were available to come over as judge for the cosplay contest.&nbsp; Frankly at that time I have never heard of La Salle starting any form of convention, as the buzz never really got around the cosplay community until that time.&nbsp; So at first I was very cautious about it: the idea of a possibility of getting involved in a out-of-blue event calling itself a convention and adding cosplayers as a means to sell tickets without caring for them, or inviting sponsors but selling things short is something I would try to avoid any association with, especially since I'm known to be involved with Cosplay.ph.<br /><br /><br /><a name='more'></a><br />But further investigation proved otherwise but it opened up a new can of mystery worms: the event seemed like a private affair with no indication of any ticket selling.&nbsp; And as typical of La Salle security, a lot of information about me is needed to help set up a pass for me to enter, particularly parking.&nbsp; When I asked if I can bring a friend along, they needed the same amount of information about him, plus all the potentially expensive electronic equipment I might be carrying with me.&nbsp; Which explains why they were very insistent on pre-registration, with completing all information asked a must.&nbsp; Also, the part about cosplayers being students and "professional" cosplayers not allowed also created a murmur among the cosplay community.&nbsp; I'm sure this might have been surprising and new to some cosplayers as it was with me as well, so much that part of the reason I agreed to become the judge is mostly out of sheer curiosity.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-cpD21PGIvdQ/TxwB5igY_nI/AAAAAAAAAXQ/4b8AivGKDKo/s1600/Xmas_00001.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-cpD21PGIvdQ/TxwB5igY_nI/AAAAAAAAAXQ/4b8AivGKDKo/s320/Xmas_00001.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>The event happened on a Wednesday, so I took a day off to attend the con.&nbsp; Met up with Wilson at noon at McDo right beside La Salle and drove in.&nbsp; I got a bit worried because the guard was not familiar with the event, although he took out some forms and found out about it and even was nice enough&nbsp; to recommend a parking place nearest to the event (unless that was listed in advance, which I never knew).&nbsp; The event was slated to start at 2:30pm so we were very early.&nbsp; The reason was that since they got me as judge for the event, might as well show them a reason why I was asked, so I brought along my<a href="http://evaguy01.blogspot.com/2011/11/anime-festival-asia-2011-day-3-nov-13.html" target="_blank"> Zaku costume that won in AFA Singapore</a>.&nbsp; The organizers knew this in advance so they helped me out in by preparing a dressing room for me and other cosplayers in one of the classrooms.<br /><br />An event staff was assigned to us by the name of Daphne and she was very helpful in taking care of our needs, and I was able to cosplay for almost an hour before the event started, and after that Wilson decided to cosplay as well by borrowing my costume while I was attending the opening.<br /><br />The event was organized by a group of literary and publishing orgs like the <a href="http://malateliteraryfolio.org/" target="_blank">Malate Literary Folio</a>.&nbsp; The event itself wasn't as elaborate as the other more established events but for its first time it was decent enough start.&nbsp; The staff and organizers were polite and attentive to the needs of their guests and sponsors.<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Fs2W0ksbREs/TxwCQL2gd7I/AAAAAAAAAXg/MyHvY1JAPsc/s1600/Xmas_00008.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-0iWkq9D-0dM/TxwCRVKjj7I/AAAAAAAAAXo/5priScUcPNc/s1600/Xmas_00012.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-0iWkq9D-0dM/TxwCRVKjj7I/AAAAAAAAAXo/5priScUcPNc/s320/Xmas_00012.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-RMFnG3FEwtw/TxwCVGzhmOI/AAAAAAAAAYA/h3dbUMsR4vc/s1600/Xmas_00024.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-RMFnG3FEwtw/TxwCVGzhmOI/AAAAAAAAAYA/h3dbUMsR4vc/s320/Xmas_00024.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/--xBOB-Z96WU/TxwCSsG08uI/AAAAAAAAAXw/W0v18790tKc/s1600/Xmas_00015.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/--xBOB-Z96WU/TxwCSsG08uI/AAAAAAAAAXw/W0v18790tKc/s320/Xmas_00015.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>Yuchengco hall was an open air covered hallway which approximately has an area of almost the size of Bahay ng Alumni in UP (this reference is for those familiar with UPAME's events) but the actual con area was half of it, the other half probably left open to keep the hallway free for pedestrians.&nbsp; There were comic related booths there, and some non-comic booth like the Cosplay Props booth. Talks were given by the invited artists particularly Rob Cham, Carlo Pagulayan and Budjette Tan (who btw, was 30 minutes late hehe).&nbsp; I was one of the four cosplay judges, the others being cosplayers <a href="http://ryansimbul.com/" target="_blank">Ryan Simbul</a>, <a href="http://www.facebook.com/kia.keary" target="_blank">Kia Keary</a> and GDAP's <a href="http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1768892205" target="_blank">Ranulf Goss</a>.&nbsp; 20 participants cosplaying characters from comics/manga and the cosplay activity was split into two parts, with the talks in between although I noticed there were issues in the numbering system, and who is supposed to go onstage as compared to the cosplay list given to the judges.&nbsp; But it was rectified on time, but it was a hassle trying to figure out what had happened.<br /><br />The finale was given out by the Philippine X-Men cosplay group, with a short skit and a catwalk featuring their costumes.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-DsEmxt6wBXA/TxwCWAyOa9I/AAAAAAAAAYI/1fkfrdftfNY/s1600/Xmas_00025.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-DsEmxt6wBXA/TxwCWAyOa9I/AAAAAAAAAYI/1fkfrdftfNY/s200/Xmas_00025.jpg" width="200" /></a><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-7bruQnYLgA0/TxwCXFyQR3I/AAAAAAAAAYQ/UcOUyu_qXks/s1600/Xmas_00026.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-7bruQnYLgA0/TxwCXFyQR3I/AAAAAAAAAYQ/UcOUyu_qXks/s200/Xmas_00026.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-65wBistmx6E/TxwCYHZVCWI/AAAAAAAAAYY/vFr_Xz5rwZY/s1600/Xmas_00027.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-65wBistmx6E/TxwCYHZVCWI/AAAAAAAAAYY/vFr_Xz5rwZY/s200/Xmas_00027.jpg" width="200" /></a><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-KTZi4mvRgO4/TxwCZC97J-I/AAAAAAAAAYg/-ZxF3b_DWuk/s1600/Xmas_00028.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-KTZi4mvRgO4/TxwCZC97J-I/AAAAAAAAAYg/-ZxF3b_DWuk/s200/Xmas_00028.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><br />Congratulations to the winners of the cosplay contest, namely: <br /><br />First Place [P10,000] Lucky Calif cosplaying as Aayla Secura of Star Wars comics<br />2nd Place [P5,000] Jazminne Huang as Kirarin of Kirarin Revolution, a shoujo manga<br />3rd Place [P5,000] Maria Hernandez as Eclairette (forgot from what comic)<br /><br />The con ended at around 8pm as scheduled.<br /><br />Now for the review portion.&nbsp; Although I understand that this was the school's first time to have an event of this nature, I have a number of suggestions that may help them organize a much more smoother event, if they plan to do it again next year.<br /><br /><b>Proper Announcement of Details</b><br />Although they were clear what kind of event it was, they weren't clear if it was open to the public, or if it was, how limited it would be.&nbsp; If they did announce it, it probably wasn't announced properly in their Facebook pages, website nor even made it clear to their partners (an example is the PH X-Men site that did not mention whether if the event had tickets, but promoted the con nevertheless).&nbsp; I turned up to be the advance scout to a lot of my friends who were genuinely interested in attending the Comic Con.&nbsp; They didn't know that La Salle actually allows outsiders to enter their grounds, provided it would be after 2pm.&nbsp; They (including me) didn't know either that the guards would no longer be able to accept anyone inside the campus after 6pm, even when it was clear in the event schedule that it would last until 8pm.&nbsp; It was an event that catered mostly to La Salle students, although cosplay contestants from other schools are allowed to join provided that they are students.&nbsp; But still, from its rumor-like whispers of its initial announcement last year up to the last day before the event, there were still a lot of confusion going on regarding the event.<br /><br /><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-J7UJqLD9Z9w/TxwCT7IVSVI/AAAAAAAAAX4/UZI_rKzhZvw/s1600/Xmas_00023.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-J7UJqLD9Z9w/TxwCT7IVSVI/AAAAAAAAAX4/UZI_rKzhZvw/s320/Xmas_00023.jpg" width="320" /></a><b>Hosts</b><br />First of all I'd like everyone to know that the hosts were not experienced hosts that we are used to in other events, so taking this into account, I'd like to congratulate them for not panicking onstage as the event flow started to quiver in all directions.&nbsp; But I'll get on the nitty gritty regarding the event flow and give some advice regarding the hosts:<br /><ul><li>Review your lines and event flow.&nbsp; As hosts its your job to make sure that everything you need to know about the event, and especially about your guests and sponsors, are taken to heart.&nbsp; The last thing you need is to mispronounce or stammer their names or their achievements.&nbsp; You may get lucky and introduce someone you already know, but that would make it look unfair and biased if the same enthusiasm isn't given to the other judges as well.&nbsp;&nbsp;</li><li>Hosts are often expected to be able to deliver clearly their lines and make everyone understand who they are introducing, or what is about to happen.&nbsp; Again, by practicing your lines before hand, this will eliminate any trouble that may come out of this predicament.</li><li>Talk to your co-host as naturally as possible, like he or she is your best friend.&nbsp; This makes doing ad libs more easily.</li><li>Remember that your world is your stage, and the audience is part of YOUR show.&nbsp; Engage with your audience and don't be afraid of asking questions about the event, and that includes the judges themselves or your special guests.</li></ul><b>Event Flow</b> <br />This is where I felt needed the most improvement and here are my suggestions to make sure you will have an engaging and entertaining show.<br /><ul><li>Always prepare the next segment at least 30 minutes before they start.&nbsp; That way there will always be a smoother transition from one part of the show to the other.</li><li>If the next segment wont start on time, move on to the next one, and let the late segment play catchup when they arrive.</li><li>Always prepare for contingencies. Prepare fillers and backups.&nbsp; If your important guest speaker will arrive late, let the next segment continue.&nbsp; And if you cannot, improvise by asking other important people to talk onstage, like the judges or other artists, or even sponsors!&nbsp; Other prominent cosplayers were present like <a href="http://behindinfinity.deviantart.com/" target="_blank">Jin Joson and the Tux Team</a>, but I guess they were not aware of their presence or that they just didnt know them (as some students are not even aware of cosplaying, although I heard some students mention if Alodia was present).</li><li>Always update your hosts on any changes.&nbsp; They are your voices and faces of the event, its important to know that.</li></ul>&nbsp;So I guess it was not a bad beginning for La Salle's first convention.&nbsp; I hope to see it happen again next year.&nbsp; Photos will be up by my next blog, as I had the bad luck of running out of batteries in the early part of the event.&nbsp; So I will be dependent on my friend Wilson for pics.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Fs2W0ksbREs/TxwCQL2gd7I/AAAAAAAAAXg/MyHvY1JAPsc/s1600/Xmas_00008.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Fs2W0ksbREs/TxwCQL2gd7I/AAAAAAAAAXg/MyHvY1JAPsc/s320/Xmas_00008.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />Special thanks to Ms. Risse Flores for inviting me and to Ms. Daphne for taking care of us during the whole event.&nbsp; Hope to visit your next event next year.eva_guy01http://www.blogger.com/profile/07470400117877255091noreply@blogger.com4De La Salle University, Manila, Philippines14.5652542 120.9930093000000414.5633262 120.99155380000003 14.5671822 120.99446480000005tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7811074802378800247.post-86076672062903027382012-01-14T22:20:00.000-08:002012-01-23T17:22:51.983-08:00Death of Libraries<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-4g49JDPtP-0/TxJvVUO57YI/AAAAAAAAAUM/nG1UoNXwoUA/s1600/975281.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-4g49JDPtP-0/TxJvVUO57YI/AAAAAAAAAUM/nG1UoNXwoUA/s320/975281.jpg" width="250" /></a></div>I wonder if any one of you still remember how books smelled?<br /><br />Stupid question maybe, but with the advent of the Internet, research has become easier and literally at your fingertips.&nbsp; But being a fan of a niche variant called Japanese Pop-culture (also spelled as m-a-n-g-a), its also understandable how hard it is to find a library catering to these needs.<br /><br />I used to believe that online libraries were there to compensate for whatever the actual real life library lacks.&nbsp; I remember going to a library (there used to be a Japanese section in the National Library, a tiny nook somewhere there. It's gone now) where I would check out copies of magazines of a language I never really quite understood but would only check out the pictures, which includes some fashion mags at that time.&nbsp; Also when I was studying in San Beda, at one time they had two copies of 1990's issues of New Type (they too disappeared for some strange reason).<br /><br /><a name='more'></a><br /><br />Manga Cafe's soon came in the dawn of the Millennium, the most prominent at that time was<a href="http://www.sugoistuff.net/2007/03/care-for-a-different-kind-of-kiss/" target="_blank"> Manga Kissa in Makati</a>.&nbsp; They had a library of both manga and pop culture and fashion magazines you can read at a fee.&nbsp; They survived for just over three years, probably because they had less and less customers coming over and because, <a href="http://www.punkednoodle.com/champloo/2008/06/17/goodbyekissa10/" target="_blank">as some speculate</a>, that the price rendered per reader would rather be spent on something else worthwhile.<br /><br />These days, the vacuum is now filled up by the <a href="http://www.jfmo.org.ph/index.php" target="_blank">Japan Foundation</a> Library, located at the ground floor of the Pacific Star Building, Sen. Gil Puyat Avenue corner Makati Avenue Makati City.&nbsp; Now before you guys start running towards the said establishment,<a href="http://www.jfmo.org.ph/about_us_library.php" target="_blank"> there are certain ground rules you must follow</a> to be able to use the library properly.&nbsp; And another thing, being a Japanese library, do not expect any translated copies of your favorite manga (unless it has been upgraded to such).<br /><br />While I enjoy today's access to everything I need to help improve my cosplay hobby, I still miss the times I have to fill in the blanks in most details using my imagination.&nbsp; Nowadays you cant stay naive with whatever details needed for our cosplay costume, as there are plenty of articles and tutorials out there in the Internet.&nbsp; I used to run <a href="http://eva-guy01.deviantart.com/journal/Mecha-Cosplay-Tips-website-is-now-officially-dead-231299406" target="_blank">a mecha tutorial website</a> back then, as a means to help fill up the gap with the lack of information regarding that topic by present libraries.&nbsp; Now forums filled the role, and eventually social network sites.<br /><br />But I still miss actually going to a library and doing research there.&nbsp; Going to a library meant having to be committed to a certain project worth finishing (as the act of going to the library is a very physical one: commuting and walking of being the most extreme form, hehe).&nbsp; Nowadays, doing research is in danger of being taken granted, as the Internet would always be considered your perpetual life buffer for information.&nbsp; With that considered, how far would an actually library fare in the face of possible extinction?eva_guy01http://www.blogger.com/profile/07470400117877255091noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7811074802378800247.post-52717181566492423302012-01-08T21:07:00.000-08:002012-01-23T17:23:02.088-08:00Why parents forbid you to cosplay<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-na_KoESrt9U/Twp0gbKQX_I/AAAAAAAAAUE/dCVC_V3_pnA/s1600/no.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-na_KoESrt9U/Twp0gbKQX_I/AAAAAAAAAUE/dCVC_V3_pnA/s320/no.jpg" width="292" /></a></div>Almost a week ago, I got a reply from one of my old blog entries in DeviantArt which talks about the choices in cosplay.&nbsp; To fully understand this, I refer you a link to that <a href="http://evaguy01.blogspot.com/2011/11/choice-of-cosplay-were-you-asking-for.html" target="_blank">old 2008 blog entry reprinted here</a> (may still be considered useful by today's standards).&nbsp; In her reply she mentioned if I have anything good to say about cosplay so that she may show it to her parents to convince them to let her cosplay, as she has been forbidden to do so.<br /><br />Now this is a pretty tricky situation. First is that I have no idea of what had happened that led to that situation.&nbsp; Based on her profile, she's probably in upper grade school or high school depending on what region she is in, and a huge chance she is dependent on her parents for practically quite everything a 15 year old would need.&nbsp; So I wrote her a reply that ended up looking like a blog entry in itself.<br /><br /><br /><a name='more'></a><br /><br />So below was my attempt in explaining to her the reason why parents may have forbidden her to cosplay, and including advise that may help her convince them to allow her in the near future, provided she would satisfy their standards on handling a hobby responsibly.<br /><br /><ol><li> <b>They fear that cosplay is a negative influence to their children.</b> And with good reason! It all boils down to how a person manages their time and priorities. Often their lack of interests in academics and helping around the house may give them good reason not to like cosplay, or any other hobby for that matter.</li><li><b>They think cosplaying is expensive.</b> This is of course very relative. You can be creative with whatever scraps you have at home, or using very inexpensive items around. But I have witnessed some cosplayers who keep asking their parents to pay for their materials or commissions, which is a huge burden to their pockets if their children wanted to cosplay a different costume once a month or so. I had the good luck of already having a part time job while I was in school when cosplay was introduced to me, so there was not so much financial burden to my parents or relatives. But of course, I would always be careful with my priorities, even when I have the means to pay for my own hobby.</li><li><b>Keeping your costumes.</b> Having a huge closet full of costumes that you used only a few times can be a nasty eyesore to your parents. Sometimes I choose costumes that I can make and then sell/rent so I can have some money on the side. Its the best compromise I can have with my parents then. And sometimes since I do mecha, I often would recycle by destroying them (yes, I have willingly destroyed several of my past costumes!) so I can use the materials to make a new one. This solves my space problem at the same time, saving enough money to make new ones.&nbsp;</li></ol><b>[[ Update ]] </b><br /><ol></ol>I actually got a whole lot of extra suggested reasons on my FB page that had this link (although I encourage peeps to do it here for the benefit of other readers).&nbsp; Thanks <a href="http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=732744505" target="_blank">Luie</a> for the extra thoughts!<br /><ul><li><b>Parents dont like your reason for cosplaying.</b> When conservative folks find out you want to crossdress as a guy or girl, they would find it embarrassing or scandalous. Also adding the fact that they may not like you cosplaying because all you want is attention and fame (although I highly doubt majority of these parents are against this. Some even encourage their kids to cosplay so that they can get the attention of some variety show talent scout).</li><li><b>Parents who dont like your choice of character.</b> Face it, being a multi-tentacled Shikima Demon virgin-raper isnt exactly what your parents want you going around in public. Also applies to uber-revealing male or female characters (plenty in the gaming genre). Or even maybe Hitler.</li></ul><br /><div style="text-align: center;">&nbsp;============</div><br />It really took me a while to think of the best reply for her question and request. And my best advise is to be able to compromise with your parents, and to assure them that you'd still hold on to your family and schoolwork responsibilities despite having this unusual hobby on the side. Like any other hobby, cosplaying should never be the top priority until you graduate, get a job and provide for your own, where you can finally decide as a responsible adult if you want cosplay to be the center of your life of not.<br /><br />One day in the future, we will someday decide to be parents/guardians too.&nbsp; And the kid/s may take up a hobby that may be beyond the reach of our understanding as well.eva_guy01http://www.blogger.com/profile/07470400117877255091noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7811074802378800247.post-75249333325979874842012-01-07T15:50:00.000-08:002012-01-23T17:23:15.889-08:00Renting Costumes: Personal list of Tips, Tricks and Nightmares<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-kQigPgSUnPQ/TwjaH_LkDVI/AAAAAAAAAT8/wzcybtup2jA/s1600/265.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-kQigPgSUnPQ/TwjaH_LkDVI/AAAAAAAAAT8/wzcybtup2jA/s320/265.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>Part of being a cosplayer, you get a wee bit too passionate and end up looking at your drawer or garage piling up with your past costume creations and wonder if you can make something out of it.&nbsp; Unlike commissions where you would have to build a costume from ground up according to the desires and tastes of your client, renting costumes seems a whole lot easier since its already available, and renting takes on a day or so with cash normally done on hand with no hassle of bank transfers, online transactions, credit card purchases or checks.<br /><br />But renting costumes can be tricky business.&nbsp; Often I would lend or rent costumes to those whom I know personally.&nbsp; If you plan to rent a costume to people, here is my personal list of things i'd do before, during and after renting a costume.&nbsp; I classified it into 2 categories: Casual Renting and Professional Renting.&nbsp; Casual means renting/lending without the hassle of legal obligations.&nbsp; Price isnt even the issue with Casual since it meant very little consequence on your part.&nbsp; Professional Renting is when everything needs to be done to make sure your costume investment maintains its street value for years.<br /><br /><a name='more'></a><br /><br />Feel free to incorporate them to your own renting system, if ever you plan to rent costumes in the future:<br /><br /><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b>Casual Renting</b></div><br /><ol><li><b>Rent to people who you know to some degree.</b>&nbsp; I know its always the hardest to charge rent to family and friends, but its easier if its somebody else your friend or family knows.&nbsp; Usually they would assure you that they'll take care of your costume.</li><li><b>Best if the person who is borrowing/renting is a fan of the series.</b>&nbsp; Chances are they'll respect the costume because they love the character.&nbsp; So unless you had the horrible luck of lending it to a psychopathic fanboy kleptomaniac who will never return the costume, you can at least be partially assured of its safety.</li><li>&nbsp;<b>Rent costumes you can afford to fix for Casual Renting.</b>&nbsp; <u>Always expect it to be a little beat up than before after every rent.&nbsp; It's a fact that no matter how careful a person who borrows or rents, it will depreciate in time.</u>&nbsp; Prepare for constant repairs and touch up if you can.</li></ol><br /><br /><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b>Professional Renting</b></div>A common mistake whenever you try to rent costumes to a total stranger is to assume he or she will take care of the costume with the same passion to detail as you do.&nbsp; Best way is to look in yourself and ask if ever you borrowed something at one point in your life, and returned it in perfect order, 100% of the time? Most likely you borrowed or rented something and took it for granted.&nbsp; Like that library book you borrowed one time with torn or stained pages, or that PS1 disc you rented or borrowed, and accidentally scratched while playing. Here are some tips on how you can minimize the hassle.<br /><br /><ol><li><b>Know your client first</b>.&nbsp; As usual get not just the usual contact numbers, find out if any of your friends or contacts can vouch for them.</li><li><b>Make sure your client can fit in the costume.</b>&nbsp; This is also the best time to meet your client in person and at the same make things a bit more personal than just communicating through the phone or internet.</li><li><b>Document everything through hard copy or email.</b>&nbsp; Making a contract works but usually if you are not part of a rental company and doing this freelance, some clients may scoff at the idea or may even feel insulted (weird huh?) with all the paperwork.&nbsp; But an email exchange or text exchange will do.&nbsp; But if you can work on an actual contract, the better!&nbsp; </li><li><b>Charge "insurance".</b>&nbsp; Heavily invested (aka expensive) costumes with lights and stuff needs to be assessed first.&nbsp; Other than the rental charge, add a security deposit of at least 30% of the street cost of your costume.&nbsp; If you spent P8,000 on your costume and you charge P2,000 a day, add P2k as security deposit to be given back to the client when they return the costume.&nbsp; Security deposits is often used to pay for any major damage the client has incurred on the costume, and it makes a great motivator to return it as much as possible in its original state.&nbsp; <u>Make sure the client understands this and does not accuse you of hidden charges.</u></li><li><b>If possible, be present on the event they will use the costume.</b>&nbsp; This is a surefire way to make sure the quality of the costume remain in good condition.&nbsp; Be part of the dress-up crew or at least assign a friend or family member to watch over the costume for a few hours to make sure they treat it right.&nbsp; For me, if the client refuses this condition, it usually means bad news for your costume and I would normally not trust them at all.</li></ol><br />Hope these may help you whenever you decide to make use of your extra costumes and make an extra buck with it and hopefully not end up with clients from hell, as <a href="http://www.sulit.com.ph/index.php/view+topic/id/89919/BEWARE%3A+Renters/Borrowers+who+Destroys+-+PIC+HEAVY" target="_blank">a friend of mine found out the hard way.</a><br /><br />Also I realized this was my first post of the year, so Happy New Year everyone!eva_guy01http://www.blogger.com/profile/07470400117877255091noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7811074802378800247.post-70060488797694151762011-12-30T18:56:00.000-08:002012-01-02T01:47:31.154-08:00Great cosplay ideasThe great thing about going around is that you pick up lots of idea for your cosplay, or at least in my point of view, mecha related ones.<br /><br />Me, my wife and some friends visited the WOW Toy Museum in Quezon City, just 40 minute drive from where I live.&nbsp; We took a tour around the place that was filled with both recent and nostalgic toys.<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.blogger.com/goog_862468285" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-zGCZBnZj-CA/Tv53pTXTbCI/AAAAAAAAATU/E5aKU9_QvdM/s320/383583_10150446040950423_572280422_8810266_1675728240_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150446026995423.357970.572280422&amp;type=1" target="_blank">CLICK HERE TO SEE GALLERY</a></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><a name='more'></a><br /><br />What got my attention were the transforming toys, which can be controlled via remote control!<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/vZYQC5Luw20?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0' /></div><div style="text-align: center;">An Optimus Prime that transforms via remote control!</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><object class="BLOGGER-youtube-video" classid="clsid:D27CDB6E-AE6D-11cf-96B8-444553540000" codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0" data-thumbnail-src="http://i.ytimg.com/vi/e_XrPQqSluY/0.jpg" height="266" width="320"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/e_XrPQqSluY?version=3&f=user_uploads&c=google-webdrive-0&app=youtube_gdata" /><param name="bgcolor" value="#FFFFFF" /><embed width="320" height="266" src="http://www.youtube.com/v/e_XrPQqSluY?version=3&f=user_uploads&c=google-webdrive-0&app=youtube_gdata" type="application/x-shockwave-flash"></embed></object></div><div style="text-align: center;">A transforming car robot. Not from the Transformers franchise.</div><div style="text-align: center;">It waves hello too!</div><br />And then, as we finished the day with Indian dinner at New Bombay at the Podium Mall, we were surprised to see another unusual toy, a remote controlled "Flying Fish".<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/j3n-mXNAuEY?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0' /></div><div style="text-align: center;">A flying (or floating) fish!&nbsp; And it can</div><div style="text-align: center;">use an elevator too!</div><br />My friend Wilson got so excited, he ran off and bought himself a shark.&nbsp; He said that one day when he visits his parents' home, he let this flying shark go on a little midnight run flying around the house on the wee hours when his younger siblings are sure to come out and have a midnight snack.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-jHK0OrnFfdY/Tv544i54ceI/AAAAAAAAATg/Lq-JQ4t7OvM/s1600/flying+shark.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-jHK0OrnFfdY/Tv544i54ceI/AAAAAAAAATg/Lq-JQ4t7OvM/s320/flying+shark.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><br />I feel bad for them.&nbsp; I hope he gets pictures of them freaking out. :D&nbsp; I told him that now he can cosplay Aquaman, and nothing beats awesomeness than the frightening utility of a flying shark out to chew bad guys.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-nKqnEohhWQU/Tv55kkB2dZI/AAAAAAAAATs/bJtxWp7qmys/s1600/6a00d83451c17f69e20115721cf6ea970b-450wi.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="243" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-nKqnEohhWQU/Tv55kkB2dZI/AAAAAAAAATs/bJtxWp7qmys/s320/6a00d83451c17f69e20115721cf6ea970b-450wi.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">Now you can call your fish friends without</div><div style="text-align: center;">feeling useless!</div>eva_guy01http://www.blogger.com/profile/07470400117877255091noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7811074802378800247.post-81328001224829853142011-12-26T18:38:00.000-08:002012-01-23T17:23:31.995-08:00Trophies and Bias<div class="separator" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.cosplay.ph/photogallery.php?photo=9746" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://www.cosplay.ph/images/photoalbum/9746.jpg" width="265" /></a></div><br />You know my biggest regret in being involved for so long in the local cosplay community?&nbsp; Is that I don't often get to join contests without being completely free of bias.&nbsp; It may be a surprise to you, but other than supporting cosplaying for fun, I also support cosplay competitions, because it helps heighten the quality of the hobby.&nbsp; Its really those who cannot handle the responsibilities of joining contests that annoy me (sour-graping, cheating and power tripping).<br /><br />I enjoyed the days when I was just a regular cosplayer. And if I wanted to join a contest, I'm good with it because I hardly know the organizers and the judges, and they hardly know me.&nbsp; These days I'm now part of a group that organizes cosplayers, that I'm invited to judge contests, and for better or worse, personally knew some (if not, most) who have become popular or famous because of cosplay.&nbsp; If ever I would like to join a contest, I would join one that has little to do with me (a good example is TOEI, but I missed this year and have to wait for the next 5 years).&nbsp; Also true why I jumped on the chance to join a contest overseas like AFA. Less bias.<br /><br /><a name='more'></a><br /><br />Also, I consider those who joined cosplay contests for the last 5 years to be lucky enough to be part of the rising trend of contests who give away trophies.&nbsp; I admit I always wanted to at least have some form of physical evidence that I won something, the nearest thing I could have was a magazine article and inside cover.&nbsp; Funny that I sometimes end up as one of those people designing those trophies for other cosplayers to win in cosplay contests.<br /><br />Other people may say that the best trophies are the experience or popularity you gained by winning.&nbsp; True in every aspect, I wont deny that I enjoy the prizes I won or the pictures that came with it.&nbsp; But I guess I was hardwired to expect achievements in forms of trophies and medals.&nbsp; Damn you High School.<br /><br />Am I bitter about it? Nah, just a little jealous maybe, but not bitter or raging over it.&nbsp; Seems like a shallow deal by anyone's standards, but sometimes you do have this need to at least have some physical, tangible "name-etched-on-brass-plate" evidence that you won something for your efforts.&nbsp; But for now at least I'm satisfied with pictures and memories.<br /><br />I guess it explains why I brought home that humongous placard of winning AFA's Singles Category. Good luck though in finding a good wall for it (still pissed that I had to fold it to get it in a box).eva_guy01http://www.blogger.com/profile/07470400117877255091noreply@blogger.com4